Knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia among family members of affected children

This study aimed to assess the knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) among family members of children with Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia (MPP) and explore the relationships between these dimensions. A cross-sectional survey was conducted at Xuzhou First People's Hospital (June-July 2025). A structured questionnaire collected demographic information and KAP data from 449 family caregivers. Adequate KAP levels were defined as scores ≥ 70% of the maximum. Structural equation modeling (SEM) analyzed the direct and indirect associations between knowledge, attitude, and practice. Most respondents were female (74.16%), with a mean age of 35.60 ± 6.62 years. The mean scores were 12.61 ± 5.00 (knowledge, range 0-20), 56.00 ± 5.74 (attitude, range 13-65), and 39.92 ± 4.63 (practice, range 9-45). Using the ≥ 70% cutoff, 170/449 (37.86%) had adequate knowledge, 442/449 (98.44%) had a positive attitude, and 430/449 (95.77%) reported proactive practices, though the latter two figures likely reflect the engagement of caregivers already active in hospital follow-up systems. In the latent-variable SEM, higher knowledge scores were positively associated with more favorable attitudes (standardized β = 0.404, P < 0.001), and more favorable attitudes were associated with better reported practices (standardized β = 0.570, P < 0.001). Knowledge showed a significant indirect association with practice through attitude (standardized β = 0.230, P < 0.01). In this hospital-linked sample of family caregivers (recruited from inpatient/outpatient services and WeChat follow-up groups), knowledge was limited and attitudes were generally positive, while reported practices were overall high, which may reflect selection effects. These findings and the observed associations among knowledge, attitude, and practice should be interpreted in the context of caregivers already engaged in clinical follow-up, and may not generalize to all family caregivers of children with MPP in the community.