A study to determine mothers' knowledge and practices towards pneumonia in under five children in Livingstone.

Abstract

Pneumonia, which is defined as an acute or chronic infection of the alveolar spaces of the lung parenchyma (Sacharin1986), is among the top five causes of morbidity and mortality in under five children in Livingstone district. Since the age group mostly affected is dependant on guardians who are usually mothers for care, this study sought to determine the mothers' in Livingstone knowledge and practices towards pneumonia. The sample population for the study was selected from four Livingstone district health centres namely, Maramba, Mahatma Gandhi, Linda and Libuyu. Purposeful sampling was used to select the study sample, while simple random sampling method was used to select the study sites. A total of 50 respondents were selected. Data was collected using a structured questionnaire with open and closed questions. The data collected was analyzed manually using a scientific calculator and presented in the form of frequency tables and pie charts. Cross tabulations were used to determine special relationship between variables. The study revealed that although pneumonia in under five children is still a problem in the district, most of the mothers had adequate knowledge on the signs and symptoms of pneumonia. They also knew how to prevent pneumonia and what to do when their children fell ill.