KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDE, AND PRACTICES TOWARDS PREVENTION OF PNEUMONIA AMONG MOTHERS OF CHILDREN BELOW FIVE YEARS AT BWEYOGERERE HEALTH CENTRE III, WAKISO DISTRICT, A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY

Esther Nakyongo; Glorious  Orishaba

doi:10.51168/sjhrafrica.v4i12.559

Authors

Esther Nakyongo Kampala School of Health Sciences, P.O. Box 142633, Kampala, Uganda.
Glorious Orishaba Kampala School of Health Sciences, P.O. Box 142633, Kampala, Uganda.

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.51168/sjhrafrica.v4i12.559

Keywords:

Attitude, Knowledge, Practices, Pneumonia

Abstract

Background.

The purpose of the study was to find out the knowledge, attitude, and practices towards the prevention of pneumonia among mothers of children below five years at Bweyogerere Health Centre III, Wakiso district.

Methodology.

A cross-sectional study with a simple random technique as a sampling technique. Data was collected from a sample of 50 respondents using a questionnaire written in the English language as a data collection tool; later data was systematically analyzed the data manually; and computed into frequency and percentages using Microsoft Excel with illustrated figures like tables and pie charts.

Results.

The majority of the respondents (76%) had ever heard about pneumonia prevention, 82%) of the respondents agreed that pneumonia is a contagious disease that can be fatal in children below five years,(74%) were willing to complete the immunization schedule for their children, (48%) were willing to encourage few of their neighbours to adopt pneumonia preventive measures and (58%) preferred to keep their children both indoor and outside the house. most of the respondents (48%) their children were not exclusively breastfed, (66%) their children were not fully immunized as per EPI guidelines, (40%) had ever attended health education on prevention in a month.

Conclusion.

About the overall findings, the researcher concluded that knowledge and attitude were fairly agreeable but some practices need to be improved on such as uptake of timely immunization schedule and implementation of exclusive breastfeeding to bridge the research gap.

Recommendation.

The researcher recommended that; community outreach should be continuously carried out by health workers at Bweyogerere Health Center III to establish more in-depth favourable practices towards exclusive breastfeeding timely uptake of immunization schedules and cooking behaviors among mothers of children below six months to reduce pneumonia risks.