Mother's Care for Child with Typhoid Fever

Abstract

Background: Typhoid fever is an acute bacterial infection caused by salmonella typhi. Typhoid is endemic to low-and middle-income countries. Children are at the greatest risk of getting the disease. Aim: This study aimed to assess mothers' care for a child with typhoid fever. Design: Descriptive design was used to conduct this study. Setting: The study was conducted at fever hospitals in Gharbiya governorate. Two cities was chosen from Gharbiya governorate (Tanta fever hospital and Kafr-Elzayat fever hospital). The highest frequency of children with typhoid fever was found in these two hospitals. Sample: A purposive sample of 130 mothers. Tools: One tool was used for data collection, this interviewing questionnaire developed by the investigator was divided into four parts: part I: Demographic characteristics of the studied children and their mothers, part II: Medical history of children, part III: Mothers' level of knowledge about typhoid fever, Part IV: Assessment of mothers' reported practices regarding care for their children with typhoid fever. Results: 53.8% of mothers hadn't done the correct practices regarding care for their children with typhoid. According to their total level of Knowledge, 60.8% of mothers had unsatisfactory level of knowledge about typhoid fever. According to their total practices, 66.2% of mothers had unhealthy practices about care for children with typhoid fever. Conclusion: There were highly statistically significant relation between the studied mothers' level of knowledge and their level of practice, with p-value (p<0.001). Recommendations: It is necessary to establish an educational program to provide mothers with adequate knowledge and practice regarding caring for their children with typhoid fever.