Socioeconomic disparities in preventive practice for intestinal parasitic infections among mothers of preschool children in Egypt.

Background: Intestinal parasitic infections are among the most common illnesses worldwide, especially in underdeveloped nations. Preschool children are considered to be a high-risk category. The objective was to assess the association between socioeconomic status and maternal practices regarding preventing intestinal parasitic infections. Methods: descriptive cross-sectional design was conducted in randomly selected (one urban, four rural) Maternal and Child health units in Minia district, Egypt. The study included a convenient sample of 382 mothers aged 15-49 years, having at least one preschool child. An Arabic interview-based questionnaire was used for data collection. Questionnaires included the mother's age, El-Gilany socioeconomic status scale and questions for mothers’ practice. Binary logistic regression was used to predict variables linked to better practice. Results: The average age was 34.95±8.47 years. The majority of mothers were housewives (75.4%), living in rural areas (76.2%), and having pre-University education or less (75.9%). Previous parasitic infection was found among 61.8% of preschool children. Median practice scores were higher among participants with better socioeconomic classes. Mothers with better preventive practices had significantly higher scores in education (p=0.025), occupation (p<0.001), and home sanitation domains (p <0.001). The home sanitary domain had the highest odds ratio (OR:1.19, CI:1.049-1.359), p=0.007. Conclusion: There is a high prevalence of intestinal parasitic infection among preschool children in the Minia district. Maternal Age, domains of occupation and home sanitation were significant predictors for mothers' practice. Carrying out health education campaigns in various community settings to improve public awareness and adherence to preventive practices should target high-risk categories.