Maternal knowledge of acute respiratory infections in children under five at tay nguyen regional general hospital

Abstract

This study aimed to evaluate maternal knowledge of acute respiratory infections (ARI) in children under five years old and identify associated factors at Tay Nguyen Regional General Hospital. A cross-sectional study was conducted in 2023 among 206 mothers using a structured, validated questionnaire. Results showed that only 30.6% of mothers had correct overall knowledge. While understanding of symptom recognition (78.2%), feeding practices (96.1%), and prevention (88.4%) was relatively high, knowledge of severe symptoms (20.4%), need for medical attention (25.2%), and nasal hygiene (24.3%) remained poor. Logistic regression revealed that younger mothers and those with lower education levels were significantly less likely to possess accurate knowledge (p< 0.05). These findings underscore the need for targeted educational interventions, especially for vulnerable groups, to improve ARI-related knowledge and reduce disease burden among children.