Evaluation of the impact of maternal training on knowledge of danger signs in sick newborns and health seeking behaviors among mothers in Enugu, South-East Nigeria: A pre-and-post interventional study

Abstract

The signs/symptoms of serious illness can be subtle in the first few weeks of life, so close monitoring is essential. The World Health Organization has identified nine “danger signs” that are closely associated with morbidity and mortality if not identified early and treated appropriately. This project was undertaken to assess mothers’ knowledge of these danger signs as well as their health seeking behavior before and after newborn danger sign training. From March to September 2021, this community-based interventional study was conducted among women in two rural communities in Enugu State. An interviewer administered questionnaire was used to assess participants’ knowledge of danger signs and care seeking behaviors before and after training on the danger signs of newborns using videos from the Integrated Management of Childhood Illnesses (IMCI). Three months apart, pre- and post-training data were collected for analysis and comparison using SPSS version 20.0 (Chicago IL). The study enrolled a total of 197 women. Only the number of newborns nursed in the past significantly predicted knowledge of danger signs in the sick newborn (p=0.032) among the socio-demographic indices examined. Prior to training, 47% of respondents could not recall any danger signs offhand, compared to 1.5% after training (p=0.001). Knowledge of up to three danger signs significantly increased after training (p=0.001), as did participants who admitted seeking medical help within 24 hours of noticing any danger signs in their newborn (p=0.043). Our study found that training mothers had a significant impact on their knowledge of danger signs in sick newborns as well as their healthcare seeking behavior. As a result, training and retraining of mothers and/or caregivers may aid in improving newborn care and lowering overall infant mortality.