Assessmentt off Motthers’’ Knowlledge and Practtiice ttowards Cariing ffor ttheiir Chiilldren wiitth Ear Probllems

Abstract

Diseases of ear, nose and throat (ENT) often have serious consequences including hearing impairment, and emotional strain that lower the quality of life of patients. Mothers' lack of knowledge, and/ or faulty practices may lead to serious consequences. Therefore, the identification of the levels of knowledge and awareness of the mothers regarding ear problems in their children is the first step towards improvement and mitigation of the potential ominous outcomes (Bluestone, 2008). Aim of study The aim of this study was to assess mothers’ knowledge and practice related to the care of their children with ear problem. Subjects and methods Research design A descriptive design was used in carrying out this study Settings The study was conducted at the ear, nose, and throat (ENT) outpatients clinics at Ain shams University Hospital and Nasser Institute affiliated specialized medical centers in Cairo. Subjects: The study population will consist of all available mothers accompanying their children with ear problems in the aforementioned settings during the time of the study. Data collection tools 1- Adesigned questionnaire was designed by the researcher based on recent literature review and was 56 chooses and 11 defined questions written in simple Arabic language to gather data which covered the following. Part 1: socio-demographic characteristics as the following: Mother such as age, current marital status, educational level, job status. Child such as age, sex, birth order, siblings, education, etc.and Family such as family type, crowding index, residence, income, etc. Part 2: designed to assess mother's knowledge of childhood ear problems it include the definition of terms, knowledge about function of ears, anatomy of the ear, types of problems and their causes and risk factors, signs and symptoms, complications, early detection, management, and prevention. Part 3: Medical record: it can be used by the researcher to acquainted knowledge about child past present medical diagnosis. Part 4: intended to assess mother's reported practices about mother working knowledge, ear wash and remove forign body from the ear while providing care for their child with ear problem.