Knowledge, beliefs and practices of mothers related to anaemia in under-five children at Kamuzu Central Hospital, Malawi
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Date
2015-10-01
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Abstract
Childhood anaemia is a major health burden which contributes to underfive morbidity and mortality in Malawi. It is estimated that 63% of children in Malawi have anaemia, however, anaemia is preventable. The purpose of this study was to explore knowledge, beliefs and practices among mothers whose underfive children were admitted with anaemia at Kamuzu Central Hospital. The study was cross sectional descriptive and it used both quantitative and qualitative methods. The study recruited 198 participants for the structured quantitative interviews and 12 participants were recruited for the qualitative in-depth interviews. The quantitative data was analyzed using descriptive and Kruskal- Wallis H statistical tests using SPSS version 16.0. The qualitative data was analyzed following principles of qualitative content analysis. The findings revealed that majority of mothers were young mothers within the age group of 20-24 years (41.4%; n=82) and unemployed (44.4%; n=88). The findings also revealed that majority of mothers (59.1%; n=117) had average knowledge related to causes and symptoms of anaemia in under-five children. Anaemia in under-five children was positively related to the education status of mothers (p = 0.005) such that mothers with higher education level (college level) had adequate knowledge of anaemia than mothers who had primary or no formal education. The study also found that majority of children had inadequate consumption of food containing iron. In addition, the study revealed that mothers received information related to nutrition from under-five clinics however mothers were not given information related to anaemia. The challenges that participants encountered in accessing health care services for under-five children were long walking distances, lack of medicine and lack of comprehensive screening of children. There is need to educate mothers on early recognition of signs of anaemia in children to prevent complications; update health workers on nutrition counselling, anaemia checkups and follow up. Furthermore, there is need for multisectoral collaboration to improve the health and nutrition status of the children.