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Maternal perceptions of acute respiratory infections in children under 5 in rural South Africa.
Trop Med Int Health. 2004 May; 9(5):644-50.TM

Abstract

OBJECTIVES

To assess maternal ability to recognize respiratory distress and to identify local beliefs and practices around respiratory infections in rural KwaZulu/Natal, South Africa.

METHODS

A descriptive study: 15 knowledgeable mothers were shown a video of 10 children with respiratory distress and four normal children. Mothers were asked to describe perceived types, signs, symptoms, causes of and actions taken for each child. Sensitivity and specificity were calculated for maternal recognition of respiratory distress (chest indrawing, fast breathing) shown on the video. A focus group discussion with six mothers was held to corroborate and refine individually reported local concepts.

FINDINGS

Maternal recognition of respiratory distress was good (sensitivity 91.3%, 95% CI: 86.8-95.8%; specificity 95%, 95%CI: 89.5-100%), with little variation between mothers (kappa = 0.704). Mothers described 12 'local types of respiratory illness', each with its own name and its own well-defined set of signs and symptoms. They were classifiable into five causative categories: supernatural, natural, tuberculosis, cold weather and unknown, indicating that perceptions of causation differed greatly from biomedical concepts. For illnesses of perceived supernatural causation, mothers were reluctant to seek medical care and antibiotics were deemed inappropriate. Traditional remedies were preferred instead.

CONCLUSION

Knowledge of local vocabulary and concepts about respiratory infections is essential to design strategies for health care workers to communicate with mothers about respiratory disease, so that mothers will seek timely medical care, provide continued safe, supportive home care and comply with antibiotic treatment.

Authors+Show Affiliations

Kauchali S
Africa Centre for Health and Population Studies, Mtubatuba, SKwaZula/Natal, South Africa.
Rollins N
No affiliation info available
Bland R
No affiliation info available
Van den Broeck J
No affiliation info available
Child Health Group
No affiliation info available

MeSH

Acute DiseaseAdultAttitude to HealthChild, PreschoolFemaleHumansInfantMiddle AgedMothersPerceptionRespiratory InsufficiencyRespiratory Tract InfectionsRural HealthSensitivity and SpecificitySouth Africa

Pub Type(s)

Journal Article

Language

eng

PubMed ID

15117311

Citation

Kauchali, Shuaib, et al. "Maternal Perceptions of Acute Respiratory Infections in Children Under 5 in Rural South Africa." Tropical Medicine & International Health : TM & IH, vol. 9, no. 5, 2004, pp. 644-50.
Kauchali S, Rollins N, Bland R, et al. Maternal perceptions of acute respiratory infections in children under 5 in rural South Africa. Trop Med Int Health. 2004;9(5):644-50.
Kauchali, S., Rollins, N., Bland, R., & Van den Broeck, J. (2004). Maternal perceptions of acute respiratory infections in children under 5 in rural South Africa. Tropical Medicine & International Health : TM & IH, 9(5), 644-50.
Kauchali S, et al. Maternal Perceptions of Acute Respiratory Infections in Children Under 5 in Rural South Africa. Trop Med Int Health. 2004;9(5):644-50. PubMed PMID: 15117311.
* Article titles in AMA citation format should be in sentence-case
TY - JOUR T1 - Maternal perceptions of acute respiratory infections in children under 5 in rural South Africa. AU - Kauchali,Shuaib, AU - Rollins,Nigel, AU - Bland,Ruth, AU - Van den Broeck,Jan, AU - ,, PY - 2004/5/1/pubmed PY - 2004/7/9/medline PY - 2004/5/1/entrez SP - 644 EP - 50 JF - Tropical medicine & international health : TM & IH JO - Trop Med Int Health VL - 9 IS - 5 N2 - OBJECTIVES: To assess maternal ability to recognize respiratory distress and to identify local beliefs and practices around respiratory infections in rural KwaZulu/Natal, South Africa. METHODS: A descriptive study: 15 knowledgeable mothers were shown a video of 10 children with respiratory distress and four normal children. Mothers were asked to describe perceived types, signs, symptoms, causes of and actions taken for each child. Sensitivity and specificity were calculated for maternal recognition of respiratory distress (chest indrawing, fast breathing) shown on the video. A focus group discussion with six mothers was held to corroborate and refine individually reported local concepts. FINDINGS: Maternal recognition of respiratory distress was good (sensitivity 91.3%, 95% CI: 86.8-95.8%; specificity 95%, 95%CI: 89.5-100%), with little variation between mothers (kappa = 0.704). Mothers described 12 'local types of respiratory illness', each with its own name and its own well-defined set of signs and symptoms. They were classifiable into five causative categories: supernatural, natural, tuberculosis, cold weather and unknown, indicating that perceptions of causation differed greatly from biomedical concepts. For illnesses of perceived supernatural causation, mothers were reluctant to seek medical care and antibiotics were deemed inappropriate. Traditional remedies were preferred instead. CONCLUSION: Knowledge of local vocabulary and concepts about respiratory infections is essential to design strategies for health care workers to communicate with mothers about respiratory disease, so that mothers will seek timely medical care, provide continued safe, supportive home care and comply with antibiotic treatment. SN - 1360-2276 UR - https://www.unboundmedicine.com/medline/citation/15117311/Maternal_perceptions_of_acute_respiratory_infections_in_children_under_5_in_rural_South_Africa_ DB - PRIME DP - Unbound Medicine ER -