Assessment of Knowledge and Stated Practice Regarding Care and Prevention of Acute Respiratory Tract Infection Among Mothers of Under Five Years Children in Selected OPD of District Darjeeling, West Bengal

Background: Acute Respiratory Tract Infections (ARI) are the most common cause of illness, hospitalization and death among under five years children in the world. A descriptive study was conducted on Assessment of knowledge and stated practice regarding care and prevention of Acute Respiratory Tract Infection among mothers of under five years children in selected OPD of District Darjeeling, West Bengal, to assess the knowledge and stated practice of mothers, correlation between knowledge and stated practice, finding association between knowledge of mothers with selected demographic variables. Methods: In this descriptive study population was mothers of under five years children. Non probability purposive sampling technique was used to select 216 mothers. The Structured interview schedule was administered to assess the knowledge and stated practice and semi-structured interview schedule to assess the demographic characteristics of mothers. Results: Result shows that 76% (164) mothers having average knowledge, and 69% (150) having average stated practice. The study findings show moderately positive (r=0.70) correlation between knowledge and stated practice of mothers. There was also significant association between knowledge of mothers with demographic variables i.e. age, education, type of habitat and type of house at 0.05 and 0.001 level of significance. Conclusion: The study has implications in nursing practice through the awareness of the mothers about the care and prevention of ARI among the under five years children. The investigator recommended in future a planned teaching program regarding care and prevention of ARI among the mothers of under five years children to enhance their knowledge and practice. Keywords: Knowledge, Stated Practice, care and prevention, Acute Respiratory Tract Infection, mothers of under five years children.