European Journal of Molecular & Clinical Medicine

Abstract

Introduction:The neonatal period comprising the first 4 weeks (28 days) of a child's life after birth is critical and dangerous events might occur. Structural, functional changes occur rapidly in this period. It is very important for mothers to be aware of the danger signs in neonates during this period. This study was done to find the prevalence of knowledge and awareness of danger signs among mothers of children aged less than 1 year.
Methods: A Community based cross-sectional study was carried out in United Arab Emirates from June 2020 to August 2020. Simple random sampling method was used and the sample size was calculated as 150. Mothers of children aged below 1 year were included in the study. A semi-structured pre-tested questionnaire was used in this study for interview purposes. Informed oral consent in common languages- English, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, and Malayalam was obtained.
Results: The prevalence of good knowledge of danger signs among mothers of children aged less than 1 year in this study was found out to be 28.6%. 91.2% of the mothers have reported having sought medical care when any of the mentioned Danger signs occurred whereas 8.7% of them had opted to treat at home.
Conclusion:In spite of extensive coverage of maternal and child health services, the knowledge and awareness of the danger signs in neonates are fairly low in the mothers. Therefore more awareness and health education campaigns need to be implemented.