Neonatal Jaundice: Knowledge, attitude beliefs, and practices of postnatal mothers in a tertiary care hospital in Uttarakhand, India

Abstract

Background: Neonatal jaundice (NNJ), a preventable cause of brain damage, is the most common cause of admission in the 1st week of life in neonatal intensive care unit. Objective: To determine the knowledge attitude and practices of postnatal mothers toward NNJ in tertiary care hospital. Materials and Methods: In this descriptive analytical study, 350 mothers who underwent delivery in our institute were interviewed within first 72 h of delivery using a structured questionnaire. Data were entered in Microsoft Excel 13 and analyzed with SPSS 23. Results: Mean knowledge score was 6.48±3.93 (0-21). 73% of the mothers knew the site of recognition in NNJ. However, inadequate knowledge regarding causes, danger signs of severity, complications and treatment were seen among respondents. At least one correct answer for cause, danger sign and complication of NNJ was reported by 28%, 54%, and 33% mothers, respectively. Only 8% mothers attributed it as a risk factor for death in the baby. Phototherapy and exchange transfusion as treatment modality was answered by 15% mothers only. Their knowledge score was significantly associated with parity, education level, residence, religion and previously affected babies but not with age. Regarding attitude, 20% mothers were willing to take the baby to the hospital within 24 h on recognition of jaundice, and almost 91% of those seeking medical advice were ready to follow it. Conclusion: Although awareness of NNJ was seen in the majority of mothers, there was a paucity of knowledge regarding causes, danger signs, and effective treatment available. Cultural beliefs and traditional infant care practices do have a significant impact on mothers. Special educational programs and involvement of electronic media are needed to increase the awareness of mothers regarding NNJ.

Neonatal jaundice: assessing the knowledge and intending practice of clinical medical students of Bingham University Teaching Hospital, Jos Nigeria

“…This is similar to what was obtained by Aggarwal et al, Mohammed et al, Rodrigo et al, where the knowledge, attitude and practice was associated with some major demographic variables like level of education, parity and age. 15,20,26 The reason for the association in these studies could be because the level of education of the mothers in those studies varied significantly from illiterates, semi illiterates and well educated mothers.…”

“…9 This is in contrast to what was revealed by studies done among mothers by Huq et al, where about 62% will use traditional remedies for their treatment, in Aggarwal et al, 52% of the subjects will use traditional remedies and 40% don't even know of any treatment. 15,21 There was a significant relationship between the intending practice of the students on NNJ and their educational level. This is because the students in 500 and 600L had been taught NNJ in lectures, tutorials and seminars and have done their Pediatric posting where they had clinical and practical knowledge on how to identify, investigate and manage a case of NNJ.…”

“…17 In the study done by Aggarwal et al, about half of the subjects don't know about the danger signs of NNJ and two-thirds don't know about the long time complications. 15 The knowledge on the treatment of NNJ was good with more than two-third knowing about the use of phototherapy and EBT. This is comparable to what Ogunfuwa et al, obtained among health workers where about 50% of them could identify phototherapy and EBT as the form of treatment in NNJ.…”

“…9 Aggarwal et al, found that only 15% knew phototherapy/ EBT as a form of treatment for NNJ. 15 Another study by Orimadegun et al, in Ibadan among CHW also showed that 82% had poor knowledge and 46% had wrong practice on NNJ. 16 Health workers are known to be a major source of information to mothers.…”

“…[20][21][22][23] There was an association between knowledge, attitude and practice with some demographic factors like age, occupation, religion, parity, ethnicity and level of education. 15,20,[23][24][25][26] There seems to be a gap in the knowledge on NNJ by some health workers who are the major source of information to mothers. Therefore, it is necessary to evaluate the knowledge of medical students who will soon become a major force among health workers so as to breach the gap in knowledge.…”