Abstract
Standard case management strategy has been recommended to reduce the high mortality rate in children with acute respiratory infections (ARI). Appropriate case management has been shown to prevent such deaths, but only if families recognize signs of possible pneumonia and seek care promptly from a trained health worker. The purpose of the present study was to assess mothers' perception and interpretation of ARI signs and symptoms in relation to that of a physician in an urban community in Addis Ababa. Two hundred and twenty-two mothers who brought their children to hospital with cough or difficulty in breathing and an equal number of control mothers were studied. Most mothers did not recognize these signs, including the key signs of pneumonia-rapid breathing and chest indrawing. While it was shown that between two physicians there was good agreement on kappa values above 70% for most ARI signs, there was little agreement between physicians and mothers or between mothers whose children came for ARI problems and mothers of hospital controls. The few mothers who recognized these signs did not interpret them as serious. The study concludes by recommending intensive health education and further ethnographic studies on community beliefs about ARI in children, with particular emphasis on documentation of the terms, signs and symptoms by which families recognize the illness.
TY - JOUR
T1 - Mothers' perceptions of signs and symptoms of acute respiratory infections in their children and their assessment of severity in an urban community of Ethiopia.
A1 - Muhe,L,
PY - 1996/6/1/pubmed
PY - 1996/6/1/medline
PY - 1996/6/1/entrez
KW - Africa
KW - Africa South Of The Sahara
KW - Age Factors
KW - Behavior
KW - Child
KW - Demographic Factors
KW - Developing Countries
KW - Diseases
KW - Eastern Africa
KW - Ethiopia
KW - Family And Household
KW - Family Characteristics
KW - Family Relationships
KW - Infections
KW - Mothers
KW - Parents
KW - Perception
KW - Population
KW - Population Characteristics
KW - Psychological Factors
KW - Research Report
KW - Respiratory Infections
KW - Signs And Symptoms
KW - Urban Population
KW - Youth
SP - 129
EP - 35
JF - Annals of tropical paediatrics
JO - Ann Trop Paediatr
VL - 16
IS - 2
N2 - Standard case management strategy has been recommended to reduce the high mortality rate in children with acute respiratory infections (ARI). Appropriate case management has been shown to prevent such deaths, but only if families recognize signs of possible pneumonia and seek care promptly from a trained health worker. The purpose of the present study was to assess mothers' perception and interpretation of ARI signs and symptoms in relation to that of a physician in an urban community in Addis Ababa. Two hundred and twenty-two mothers who brought their children to hospital with cough or difficulty in breathing and an equal number of control mothers were studied. Most mothers did not recognize these signs, including the key signs of pneumonia-rapid breathing and chest indrawing. While it was shown that between two physicians there was good agreement on kappa values above 70% for most ARI signs, there was little agreement between physicians and mothers or between mothers whose children came for ARI problems and mothers of hospital controls. The few mothers who recognized these signs did not interpret them as serious. The study concludes by recommending intensive health education and further ethnographic studies on community beliefs about ARI in children, with particular emphasis on documentation of the terms, signs and symptoms by which families recognize the illness.
SN - 0272-4936
UR - https://www.unboundmedicine.com/medline/citation/8790676/Mothers'_perceptions_of_signs_and_symptoms_of_acute_respiratory_infections_in_their_children_and_their_assessment_of_severity_in_an_urban_community_of_Ethiopia_
DB - PRIME
DP - Unbound Medicine
ER -
