The relationship between the levels of knowledge about monkeypox virus among parents coming to the pediatric outpatient clinic and their anxiety and fear of contamination/infection levels

Aims: In this study, we aimed to examine the relationship between the knowledge levels of parents who applied to the pediatric outpatient clinic about monkeypox virus and their anxiety and fear regarding contamination/infection. Methods: The study was conducted in the pediatric outpatient clinic of Yalova Training and Research Hospital between May 15 and July 15, 2024. Necessary institutional permissions were obtained before starting the study. The research data consisted of a 19-item socio-demographic information form, Beck Anxiety Scale (BAS) and Fear of Infection/Contamination Scale (FICS) questions created by the researchers. The obtained data were analyzed in the SPSS 22.0 program. Results: The majority of the parents participating in the study were between the ages of 30-39 (47.7%), and the majority were women (73.2%). When evaluated according to education level, 30% of the participants were high school graduates, and 29.5% had a bachelor's degree or higher. The majority were married (87.7%), and 53.6% were unemployed. 61.8% lived in the city center, 55.9% had equal incomes and expenses, the average number of people living in the house was 4.09±1.12, and the average number of children was 2.06±0.98. 93.6% of the participants stated that they had not received training on the monkeypox virus, 90.9% had heard of this virus, and 45.9% knew the ways the virus was transmitted. However, 64.5% of parents did not know whether the monkeypox virus was fatal or not, 64.5% reported that they were afraid of this virus, but 51.8% did not take any precautions. It was determined that the average BAS score of parents regarding monkeypox was at a mild anxiety level and their FICS was high. No significant correlation was found between anxiety levels and fear of contamination/infection, as assessed by the BAS and FICS scores (r=−0.091, p=0.179). Conclusion: In our study, it was determined that the average BAS score of families regarding monkeypox virus disease was at a mild anxiety level, and the FICS was high according to the average BAS score. It was also observed that parents did not receive education about monkeypox virus disease, did not know whether this disease was fatal or not, most of them were afraid of this disease and did not take any precautions for protection.