Mothers' attitudes to children's chest infections in India

Acute Respiratory Infections (ARIs) account for a very high morbidity and mortality amongst children in the developing countries. A knowledge, attitude and practice study in relation to the literacy status of mothers whose children suffered from ARI was conducted. A sample of 140 mothers who had 265 children were selected for the study. The majority of literate mothers (75%) had complete knowledge regarding management of ARI. Literacy alone was not the only factor responsible for developing a positive attitude and adopting correct practices during ARI. Mass media and health personnel played an equally important role. Most women (89.3%) had obtained their knowledge regarding ARI through media and paramedical staff. Most mothers (96.4%) were concerned about the health of their children when they suffered from episodes of ARI and the majority of them (87.2%) were worried because they felt that their children or contacts could be adversely affected. Nearly 72% of mothers took early action during an episode of ARI. The majority of the medical practitioners practised non-allopathic medicine but all of them were prescribing allopathic drugs. Most of the mothers (70%) had no problem in taking their children to the desired health centers when needed.