Assessment of Mothers' Knowledge, Practices, and Attitudes towards Animal Bites for their Children

Abstract

Background: Animal bites are common problems in children, with the majority of bites come from dogs and cats. One of the most important diseases transmitted by animal bites is rabies. Aim: the present study aimed to assess mothers' knowledge, attitudes and practices regarding animal bites for their children. Design A descriptive research design setting: Emergency Department of Al-Santa Central Hospital which is affiliated to Ministry of Health and Population. Subjects: A convenience sampling of all (300) mothers of children complaining of animal bites was recruited in the current study. Tools: Three tools were used , Tool I; Mothers’ knowledge regarding animal bites, Tool II; mothers ’ reported practices regarding animal bites and Tool III; mothers' attitudes toward animal bites. Results : the majority of mothers (92,7%)had low level of total knowledge about animal bites. More than three quarters of the mothers (76,7%) their total practice was unsatisfactory and 77% of them had negative attitude regarding animal bites. Conclusion : mothers had low level of knowledge, unsatisfactory practice and negative attitude toward animal bites. Recommendation: Educational program should be conducted to mothers at Emergency department to enhance their knowledge, attitude and practice regarding prevention and caring of children with animal bites.