MOTHERS ATTITUDES TO CHILDRENS CHEST INFECTIONS IN INDIA

Acute Respiratory Infections (ARIs) account for a very high morbidity and mortality amongst children in the developing countries. A knowledg e, attitude and practice study in relation to the literacy status of m others whose children suffered from ARI was conducted. A sample of 140 mothers who had 265 children were selected for the study. The majorit y of literate mothers (75%) had complete knowledge regarding managemen t of ARI. Literacy alone was ndt the only factor responsible for devel oping a positive attitude and adopting correct practices during ARI. M ass media and health personnel played an equally important role. Most women (89.3%) had obtained their knowledge regarding ARI through media and paramedical staff. Most mothers (96.4%) were concerned about the health of their children when they suffered from episodes of ARI and t he majority of them (87.2%) were worried because they felt that their children or contacts could be adversely affected. Nearly 72% of mother s took early action during an episode of ARI. The majority of the medi cal practitioners practised non-allopathic medicine bur all of them we re prescribing allopathic drugs. Most of the mothers (70%) had no prob lem in caking their children to the desired health centres when needed .