KNOWLEDGE, PERCEPTION AND TREATMENT PRACTICES RELATING TO FEBRILE CONVULSION AMONG NURSING MOTHERS IN IDIKAN AND ORI-ERU COMMUNITIES, IBADAN, NIGERIA

Abstract

Febrile Convulsion (FC) in under-fives is often a consequence of delayed treatment of the causes of febrile conditions in Nigeria. Community interventions to prevent febrile convulsion in children require an understanding of local perceptions of the conditions and treatment preferences which have not been adequately investigated in Nigeria. This Study which focused on nursing mothers in ldikan and Ori-Eru communities in Ibadan North-West Local Government Area (LGA) Oyo State was conducted to fill this gap in knowledge. A four-stage random sampling technique was used to select 600 respondents (300 from each of the communities) for the cross-sectional survey. Eight tape-recorded Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) were conducted and a validated semi-structured questionnaire with a 28-point knowledge scale was used for data collection. Content analysis was used for the FGD data while descriptive and ANOVA statistics were used to analyse the quantitative data. The respondents' mean age was 29.6±6.9 years. 54.0% had primary school education and 87.0% were married. Majority (72.0%) had witnessed at least a case of FC in their communities within one year preceding the study. Few mothers (21.0%) had pre-school children who ever had FC. The mean knowledge score on FC was 16.5±2.9 while the mean knowledge scores by marital status were as follow: married (13.9±3.7), and others (16.5±2.9) (p<0.05). The difference in the following mean knowledge scores by level of education was also significant primary (16.1±2.6), secondary (17.1±2.9) and tertiary (17.1 ± 2.3)(p<0.05). Thirty-three percent of respondents perceived FC were involuntary movement of the eyes (90.8%) and high body temperature (90.7%) Most (96.3%) were of the opinion that FC can be caused by delay in seeking treatment for high body temperature. Under-five children were perceived to be the age group which is most vulnerable to FC by 63.0% of participants. The erroneous perceptions of most respondents were that immunization (94.1%) and traditional herbal preparations (93.1%) could be used to prevent FC. The listed first aid care for FC included putting child’s leg near fire (75.2%) and insertion of a spoon in the child's mouth to prevent the tongue from being bitten (71.5%). The preferred treatment approaches were as follow; orthodox (42.7%), traditional (35.2%), combination of both orthodox and traditional (21.2%) and spiritual (0.8%). Most discussants stated that home management practices for FC included application of fresh pepper on child’s eyes and administration of traditional medicinal preparations of assorted ingredients on the ill Children before taking them to any of the following for further management: herbal home, patent medicine vendors or a formal health care facility. Although respondents' have moderate level of knowledge of febrile convulsion many of their management practices and preferences have serious health implications. Public enlightenment, training and health facility based health talk are needed to address the risky practices involved in the home management of febrile convulsion.