Knowledge, Attitude and Practice towards Vitamin D Importance and Supplementation among Mothers of under Five Children in a Primary Health Care Center in Cairo.

Abstract

itamin D deficiency and insufficiency are highly prevalent among Egyptian mothers and their neonates. Between 25.7 % and 77.2% of Egyptian infants and women (pregnant and non-pregnant) had vitamin D inadequacy. Several studies from different parts of the world show that knowledge, attitude and behavior play an important role in influencing the major risk factors leading to vitamin D deficiency or insufficiency. The aim of this work was to assess the knowledge and attitude of mothers attending primary health care center in Cairo towards vitamin D importance, to identify mothers' practices towards vitamin D and its supplementation, to identify mothers' practices towards sun light exposure and to assess the relationship between knowledge and practice of mothers and the presence of symptoms and signs suggestive of rickets among their children. A structured interview questionnaire was designed and applied on (195) mothers. The questionnaire included: Section I: Sociodemographic characteristics of the studied mothers. Section II: Information related to the participant’s knowledge about the importance of vitamin D, The source(s) of the