Designing and evaluating a health education session on respiratory infections addressed to caregivers of children under three years of age attending day-care centres in Porto, Portugal: A community-based intervention

Abstract

Background: Acute respiratory infections (ARI) are common in children, increasing the pressure on clinicians to prescribe antibiotics and affecting public healthObjectives: This study aimed to design a health education session (HES) for caregivers of children, and to evaluate its effects on caregivers’ needs, as well as on their knowledge and attitudes concerning ARI.Methods: A generalized model of developing, implementing and evaluating a community-based intervention was followed, including caregivers of children under three years of age. Caregivers were randomly distributed into an intervention group (IG) (n = 41) and a control group (CG) (n = 51) and the HES was administered to the IG. The caregivers’ needs as well as knowledge of and attitudes to ARI were evaluated in both groups, before (M0) and two months after the HES (M1).Results: At M0 the caregivers from both groups had ‘some or great need’ about all HES domains; at M1 the caregivers in the IG expressed ‘no or low need’, whereas the CG maintained ‘some or great need’ about all HES domains (0.011 ≤ P ≤ .047). Concerning caregivers’ knowledge of and attitudes to ARI, at M1 there was a higher frequency of caregivers with right answers in the IG than in the CG (IG =7.5 ± 1 versus CG =6.0 ± 2; P = .000). Those differences occurred in domain (e) nasal clearance techniques, revealing a higher percentage of caregivers who used correctly nasal irrigation (P = .000), nasal aspirators (0.000 ≤P ≤ .001) and nebulization (P = .000) in IG.Conclusion: The HES met the caregivers’ needs regarding ARI and increased their knowledge and attitudes towards ARI, especially regarding nasal clearance techniques.

Educational Program for Nursery School Supervisors Related to Prevention of Upper Respiratory Tract Infections in Assiut City

“…Table (3): Present the comparison between total mean scores of the studied participant's knowledge related to upper respiratory tract infection in pre and post -tests. It was noticed that there was a statistically significant differences between pre, and post-tests (1) and (2) were (P 1 =0.001*), (P 2 =0.009*). Whereas the total mean scores of knowledge improved from 53.8±7.74 in the pre-test to 68.67± 2.58in the posttest (1).…”

“…P-value considered statistically significant when P < 0.05. (1) and between pretest and post-test (2) regarding to all the items of knowledge .In which all means and standard deviation of all items of knowledge were improved in post-test (1) than in pretest and post-test (2) except in anatomy and physiology of respiratory system there was slightly improved in knowledge in the post-test (2) than pretest and post-test (1). Table (3): Present the comparison between total mean scores of the studied participant's knowledge related to upper respiratory tract infection in pre and post -tests.…”

“…Highly statically significant differences were found between pre and post -tests related to all items of practice (P 1 =0.000*, P 2 =0.000*) respectively. With high mean ± SD 29.00 ± 1.18 in hand washing Table (5): Depicts comparison between total mean scores of the studied participants' practice related to upper respiratory tract infection in pre and post-tests .It was noticed that there was a statistically significant differences between pre, and post-tests (1) and (2) were (P 1 =0.000*), (P 2 =0.000*). Where as the total mean scores of practice improved from33.16 ± 11.71 in the pre-test to 121.05 ± 3.77 in the post-test (1).…”

La kinésithérapie respiratoire dans la bronchiolite virale aiguë du nourrisson. Arguments pour/contre

“…Des publications récentes rapportent des éléments objectifs de validation de la DRR et de l'éducation parentale à cette technique [47][48][49]. Ces études montrent des résultats significatifs sur la décongestion nasale, la compliance tympanique mesurés par tympanométrie, la diminution des épisodes d'infections respiratoires basses et de récidives des otites moyennes aiguës (OMA) avec répercussions économiques significatives sur les coûts de santé.…”

Caregivers’ education vs rhinopharyngeal clearance in children with upper respiratory infections: impact on children’s health outcomes

“…The caregivers in the education groups (EG and E + IG) attended a Health Education Session (HES) on respiratory infections among children at their day-care centre. The HES was developed as a multi-stage process according to the caregivers' needs, described elsewhere [2]. The HES covered the following five domains: (A) prevention of acute respiratory infections (ARI): primary and secondary prevention measures; (B) first signs and symptoms of ARI: correct management of rhinorrhoea, cough and nasal congestion; (C) worsening signs of ARI: appropriate actions regarding fever, loss of appetite, dehydration or signs of increased difficulty in breathing; (D) medication: decide with the child's doctor when antibiotics should be taken, the appropriate dosage and frequency of medication and when to stop; (E) Nasal clearance techniques: demonstrative and shared practice about the appropriate way to use nasal irrigation according to the child's age; remarks about the use of nasal aspirators and nebulisation.…”