Maternal perceptions of lead poisoning in children with normal and elevated lead levels

Abstract

Introduction: The purpose of this study was to examine mothers' perceptions of the severity and susceptibility of their children to lead poisoning and to determine if a correlation existed between mothers' knowledge of lead poisoning and their children's blood lead levels. It was thought that mothers of children with lead poisoning (lead levels ≥10 μg/dL) would score lower on a test of their perceptions and knowledge of lead poisoning than would mothers of children with normal lead levels (lead levels ≤9 μg/dL).Method: A cross-sectional study comparing scores of a questionnaire completed by mothers whose children had elevated blood lead levels and mothers whose children had normal blood lead levels was conducted.Results: No difference was found in the median test score between the 2 groups. For the correct responses on a question-by-question comparison, significant differences existed between groups; however, the percentage of correct responses was not always greater for the mothers of children with normal blood lead levels.Discussion: Mothers' perceptions and knowledge of lead poisoning were not associated with their children's blood lead levels.