A study of knowledge, attitude and practices about otitis media in parents in Navi-Mumbai

Abstract

Although otitis media poses a serious health risk in developing countries, being a frequent occurrence in children below five years of age, parental awareness and practices about otitis media have not been adequately researched. Present cross-sectional study was undertaken in Navi Mumbai schools, from October 2019 to December 2019, wherein parents with children ≤5 years of age answered a questionnaire which gathered data on their knowledge, attitude and practices about otitis media in their wards. Chi-square tests, Cramer’s V were used to study association between gender, age-group and education of parents with their knowledge, practice and attitude about otitis media. Out of 425 valid responses, overall most parents displayed adequate knowledge (77%), positive attitude (61%) and good care-seeking practices (70%). There was a positive correlation of knowledge and practice with level of education. This study shows acceptable levels of knowledge, attitude and practices in parents about otitis media. Parents who did not seek treatment from health centre attributed the behaviour to poverty, ignorance and lack of health insurance. The positive correlation of knowledge and practices with level of education highlights the importance of role of education in modifying parental awareness and care seeking behaviour. Our findings call for a need to further strengthen community-based healthcare and improve parental confidence in healthcare services for early detection and adequate treatment of otitis media.

Knowledge and Attitudes of Parents towards Childhood Hearing Loss and Pediatric Hearing Services in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates

“…However, this contrasted with findings from other regions where mothers were more aware of OM leading to hearing loss [17]. Several other studies report that both parents have an equal level of knowledge about OM and hearing loss [9,18]. Uncertainty was noted among most parents regarding "breastfeeding for first 6 months reduces or prevents OM."…”

Effects of online social media on improving mothers’ behaviors towards preventing their children’s otitis media based on the PRECED model: a randomized educational intervention trial

“…In a study by Baghiani Moghadam, 4.5% of mothers with children less than 2-year-old had good knowledge about Otitis media [19]. In another similar study, only 30% of mothers performed optimally in the field of otitis media prevention behaviors, and this study emphasized the need for health care providers to pay more attention to this issue [20].…”

“…The core items of the questionnaire were extracted based on several literature review (some literature included Refs. [16,[18][19][20]). In part two, the constructs of PRE-CEDE model derived from the available literature and in part.…”

“…Training mothers is one of the effective ways to prevent otitis media [17]. In this regard, educational interventions, campaigns and community-oriented interventions and the necessity of attention of health care providers [20] are suggested in the field of otitis media prevention. Based on documentation, using theories and models to design suitable and successful educational interventions helps us [21].…”

Diagnosis of Middle Ear Diseases Based on Convolutional Neural Network

“…OM is divided into acute AOM and OME [1]. Approximately 90% of children experience OME, and 50% of children develop AOM annually [2,3]. CC is a common cause of childhood conductive hearing loss.…”