Parental knowledge, attitudes, and practices towards self-medication for their children: a cross-sectional study from Palestine

AimTo determine the knowledge, attitude, and practice of parents toward the oral health of their school-going children in Faridabad city.Materials and methodsA cross-sectional study was conducted among 312 parents who reported in the outpatient department of Pedodontics and Preventive Dentistry at Sudha Rustagi College of Dental Sciences & Research, Faridabad, Haryana, India. Data was collected through a self-administered questionnaire. The statistical analysis was performed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) (version 18) software for descriptive and multivariate analysis, and the level of statistical significance used in this study was chosen at p < 0.05.ResultThe results of this study showed that the sample selected had relatively good knowledge regarding the number of teeth present in the mouth of their child, the importance of filling the primary teeth, and trauma-related knowledge. Parents were aware that excess sugar intake, germs/bacteria, and sticky food are responsible for causing caries. On the contrary, a few of the parents were not aware of the ideal time for the first dental visit. Parents showed a positive attitude regarding the importance of supervised brushing twice with fluoridated toothpaste.ConclusionWe concluded in the present study that the knowledge of parents regarding the oral health of their children in Faridabad city is relatively good, but in a few aspects, it's been observed that this knowledge is not implemented, and the attitude of the parents toward good oral health practices needs to be improved more. As pedodontists, we can help to bring this change to the present society as we can counsel parents to take appropriate care of their children's oral health.Clinical significanceThis article will help to assess the awareness of parents toward the oral health of their school-going children, which will further help in improving their knowledge, attitude, and practices, hence improving the oral hygiene of children.How to cite this articleSingh R, Mendiratta P, Saraf BG, et al. Knowledge, Attitude and Practices of Parents toward the Oral Health of their School-going Children in Faridabad City. Int J Clin Pediatr Dent 2022;15(5):549-553.

Background: Parents are the primary caregivers and their positive knowledge, attitude, and practices play an important role in children’s future vision. Objectives: This study aimed to determine knowledge, attitude, and practices of parents of asthmatic children about physical activities in patients referred to teaching hospitals in Ahvaz during 2016. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 118 parents of children with asthma, admitted to the pediatric wards of teaching hospitals in Ahvaz, were selected by non-randomized consecutive method according to the inclusion criteria (P = 0.5, and d = 0.09). A researcher-made questionnaire (demographic information, knowledge, attitude, and practices of parents) was given to 20 parents after calculating cvr, cvi, and reliability confirmation through test-retest method by 10 professors. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, and ANOVA. Management and data analysis was performed using the SPSS statistical software. Results: The results showed that the knowledge of 61.01% of parents was ideal and 38.13% intermediate, attitude of 51.69% was ideal and 48.30% neutral, and practices of 53.38% was ideal and 46.61% was intermediate towards physical activity in children with asthma. There was a significant association between the level of knowledge and attitude of parents with educational level (P = 0.0001), severity of asthma (P = 0.049), and duration of asthma (P = 0.049). Conclusion: Overall, knowledge, attitude, and practices of parents on physical activities, such as swimming and gymnastics, was poor and it is suggested that parents be advised towards more allowed sports activities in children with asthma.

Purpose: Since various factors such as parents' attitudes and knowledge can affect the use of fluoride, this study aims to assess the relationship between children's parents' attitudes and knowledge towards preventive caries methods with their children's caries experience. Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 110 parents of preschool children in Ahvaz were randomly selected. Using a questionnaire, parents' knowledge and attitude about fluoride therapy were evaluated, and their children's teeth were examined for dmft. Data were analyzed by Mann-Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis tests. Results: The mean of parents' knowledge about caries prevention methods was 2.22 ±3.23 of 9, and the knowledge of 68% was poor, 21% moderate, and 11% was good. The mean of parents' attitude about caries prevention techniques was 9.5±2.05 of 14, and the attitude of 0% was poor,60% moderate, and 40% was good. There was no significant relationship between parents' knowledge with gender, age, education, source of information, and dmft. There was a direct relationship between knowledge and the experience of professional topical fluoride (PTF). There was no significant relationship between the attitudes of parents with gender, the history of PTF, and the source of information. There was a direct, significant relationship between parents’ attitude and their educational level, age, and child’s dmft. Children's experience of PTF was 18.6%. Conclusion: Parents' knowledge and attitude towards fluoride roles in the prevention of dental caries were low. So, assigning programs to increase parents' knowledge and, subsequently, using caries prevention techniques is suggested.

Background and Objective: As majority of upper respiratory tract infections (URTIs) have a viral origin, antibiotic prescription for URTIs has become a common practice in pediatric medicine. The prescription of an inappropriate and unnecessary antibiotic is the main cause of the development and increase of antibiotic resistance. The factors involved in high level of using antibiotics include knowledge and attitude on the use of antibiotics, patient satisfaction with treatment, and the relationship between physician and patient, and patient experience in the use of antibiotics. Thus, the objective of this research was to evaluate the knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) of parents with regard to the use of antibiotics for URTIs in children admitted to Infectious Diseases Clinic of Shahid Motahari Hospital in Urmia in 2017–2018. Methodology: The current research is an analytical cross-sectional study. The research population included parents who have children aged 1–8 years and admitted to the infectious diseases clinic of the Motahari Hospital in Urmia from all parts of the province. In this research, KAP of patients was evaluated with regard to the use of antibiotics for acute URTIs in children based on age, education level, and living place. SPSS software version 21 was used to analyze the data. Results: Of 400 parents examined, 58.8% were female and 41.2% were male. In addition, 75% of the parents were living in cities, 23.3% of them had academic level of education, and 12% were illiterate. A significant relationship was found between the level of education, the living place, and the KAP of parents with regard to the use of antibiotics for URTIs. There was also a significant relationship between age and attitude and practice of parents, but age was not significantly correlated with parent knowledge. Parents admitted to the hospital stated that the most reason for the arbitrarily use of antibiotics was its prescription by physician in the same condition. During 3 months before admitting to the hospital, 54.2% of the parents used the antibiotic arbitrarily for URTIs children. Conclusion: Low level of knowledge and attitude of parents about URTIs and high levels of arbitrarily use of antibiotic in this study make it necessary to provide educational programs for parents with regard to infections common among the children and, their treatment more supervision over pharmacies and retraining courses for physicians.

Objectives:To assess the knowledge, attitude, and practice of parents regarding antibiotic usage for treating upper respiratory tract infection (URTI) among children.Methods:A cross-sectional study was conducted among 320 randomly selected parents attending a primary health clinic using self-administered questionnaires.Results:About two-thirds (69.1%) of the parents had poor knowledge level. Only 25.2% and 21.6% of the parents could correctly identify amoxicillin and penicillin as the treatment of children’s URTI. However, about two-thirds (67.5%) of the parents were aware of the antibiotic resistance caused by overuse of antibiotics. A significant association was noted between the father’s and mother’s educational level and family income with the knowledge level. Only mother’s educational level depicted a significant association with the attitude.Conclusion:The knowledge of parents regarding antibiotic usage for URTI was poor. More numbers of health promotions and educational campaigns are required to help parents understand about antibiotic usage.

AimThe aim of the present study is to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practices of parents toward their children's oral health and its influence on the dental caries status of 5-10 years old schoolchildren in Nashik, Maharashtra.Materials and methodsA cross-sectional questionnaire-based study was conducted among parents of 5-10 years old school children who visited our hospital. A total of 504 children and their parents were included in the study. Clinical examination of children was done using DMFT and deft index. A self-designed questionnaire was given to the parents to assess their knowledge, attitude and practices toward their children's oral health. Statistical analysis was performed using EPI INFO version 6.04. ANOVA test was used to test the association between dental caries status and KAP. p -value < 0.05 was considered to be statistically significant.ResultsThe mean DMFT was 1.6 ± 1.5 and mean deft was 6.6 ± 3.4. Majority of the parents (64.9%) showed fair knowledge, attitude, and practices. There was no significant difference between mean DMFT/deft and parental KAP.ConclusionOverall the parents in the present study had reasonable KAP about oral health of their children. Deficient areas of oral health awareness include importance of milk teeth and their treatment, regular dental visits, and dietary practices.Clinical significanceOral health awareness programs should be directed toward parents and should emphasize on topics such as importance of milk teeth and their treatment, regular dental visits, and dietary practices.How to cite this articlePatil AN, Karkare S, Jadhav HS, et al. Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice of Parents toward Their Children's Oral Health and its Influence on the Dental Caries Status of 5-10-year-old School-children in Nashik, Maharashtra: A Cross-sectional Study. Int J Clin Pediatr Dent 2022;15(S-2):S126-S130.

The World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend seasonal influenza vaccination for all individuals aged 6 months and older. Despite high national immunization rates, the influenza vaccination coverage among Saudi children remains unclear. Parental knowledge and attitudes significantly impact children's vaccination rates. Purpose: This study aims to evaluate parental knowledge, awareness, and attitudes regarding influenza vaccination and identify barriers to vaccination uptake among children in Al-Madinah City, Saudi Arabia. Methods: The population includes parents having children aged 6 months to 14 years. A cross-sectional survey utilizing a 33-item validated questionnaire was conducted to evaluate parental awareness, knowledge, and attitudes toward the influenza vaccine. Inferential statistics were employed to evaluate demographic factors influencing parental knowledge and attitudes toward vaccination. Results: This study surveyed 407 parents from Al-Madinah, focusing on their awareness, knowledge, and attitudes towards seasonal influenza vaccination. The sample was primarily Saudi (86.7%), with a mean age of 34 years. Most parents (95.6%) were aware of the vaccine, primarily through media and campaigns. Despite this, only 44.5% had vaccinated themselves or their children, citing perceptions of influenza as mild, vaccine ineffectiveness, and availability issues as primary reasons for non-vaccination. Knowledge about influenza varied, with most parents aware of its contagiousness (64.4%) and symptoms, but misconceptions persisted, such as believing the vaccine could cause the flu. Parental attitudes towards vaccination were mostly positive, with high trust in health information sources and a mean attitude score of 22.48 out of 35. Positive attitudes were correlated with better knowledge and more frequent infection control practices. Age, education, and medical profession status significantly influenced knowledge, while vaccine attitudes were most favorable among those vaccinated (p < 0.001). Conclusions: Most parents in Al-Madinah recognize the importance of vaccination; however, misconceptions about vaccine safety, perceived low need, and barriers such as vaccine availability persist. Sociodemographic factors, including education, income, and profession, are linked to better knowledge and more positive attitudes toward vaccination.

Background: Visual impairment and blindness have a long-term impact on children. Common causes include refractive error, amblyopia, and cataracts, all of which are preventable.Objectives: This study aims to evaluate the knowledge, attitude, and practice of parents regarding children's eye care in Al-Qunfudah governorate, Saudi Arabia.Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out on a convenience sample of 403 parents residing in the governorate of Al-Qunfudah. Data were gathered using a validated, self-administered online questionnaire that required participants' consent and ensured data confidentiality. IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 26.0 (Released 2019; IBM Corp., Armonk, New York, United States) was used to do the statistical analysis of the data.Results: This study included 403 participants; 41.2% of them were 36-45 years old, 75.9% were female, and 88.8% were married. Most of the participants had had their children undergo eye examinations (65%). A positive attitude about child eye care among the participants was observed in 48.9% of them, while the level of knowledge about eye care and its regular examinations was poor in 60% of the study sample. A significant positive correlation was detected between participants' attitudes and knowledge scores about the eye care of their children (r = 0.238, p-value = <0.001). Older adults (P = 0.004), those with employment (P = 0.004), and those with a history of children suffering from eye problems (P = 0.018) are associated with a positive attitude, while better knowledge is associated with the parent's age (P = 0.007) and higher education level (P = 0.047).Conclusion: The knowledge and attitude of the parents regarding their children’s eye care were suboptimal, and the main reason for conducting eye examinations on their children was the presence of active eye disease and a symptomatic child. Positive attitudes were more prevalent among those aged 36-45 years, employed, and with a higher number of children with eye problems. Those in the age group of 36-45 who had a bachelor’s degree were associated with greater knowledge. There is an urgent need to educate parents about routine and recommended eye screening. Family physicians should conduct opportunistic eye screenings for children who attend primary healthcare facilities and provide parents with educational materials about common eye disorders and children’s eye care.

Background: Congenital heart disease (CHD) is the most common type of birth defects and remain the leading cause of death from congenital malformations. The knowledge of the parents of children with CHD; is important for the long term wellbeing of their children. In 2017 we have conducted study looking at the knowledge of the parents of children with CHD; about the disease, after that study we have implemented some measures to improve the knowledge of the parents and we wanted to see if there was any improvement in the parents knowledge. Objectives: To assess the parent’s knowledge regarding diagnosis and management of their children with CHD. Methods: This is a prospective questionnaire based study, conducted at the Paediatric Cardiology Outpatient clinic Ahmed Gasim cardiac Centre, over a six months period from June to November 2019. Results: The total study population was 120 parents of children with CHD. Of these children, females were 65 (54.2%) and males were 55 (45.8%). The most common age group was 1-5 years old, with 51 (42.5 %) children. 71 (59.2%) of the study population resided in urban areas. 103 (85.8%) of the responders were mothers. 32 (31.0%) mother and 11 (64.7%) fathers were &gt; 40 years old. 9 (52.9%) fathers and 37 (35.9%) mother were primary school graduate. 87 (84.5%) of the mothers were housewives, and10 (58.9%) fathers were unskilled workers. 66 (55%) and 54 (45%) of the parents were of moderate and low social class respectively. 14 (11.7%) children were known to have Down’s syndrome. 60 (50%) had previous cardiac surgery, 26 (21.7%) had previous cardiac catheterizations and 3 (2.5%) had documented episodes of infective endocarditis. The commonest Cardiac diagnoses were Ventricular Septal Defect 49 (40.8%), Atrial Septal defect 23 (19.2%) and Tetralogy of Fallot 18 (15%). 118 (98.3%) were attending the appointment visits regularly. 119 (99.2%) confirmed that the diagnosis of their children heart problem was explained to them. 84 (70%) reiterated their children heart problem correctly. 100 (83.3%) and 113 (94.2%) stated correctly the symptoms and risk factors of Infective Endocarditis (IE) respectively. 44 (36.7%) received information regarding the importance of oral hygiene, 102 (85%) were aware about need for antibiotics before dental procedures and 120 (100%) were aware about measures to maintain a good oral hygiene. The knowledge of parents was considered fair in 49 (40.8%), good in 46 (38.3%) and poor in 25 (20.8%). Conclusion: The knowledge of the parents of children with congenital heart disease was generally good, but there is a room for improvement. Simple measures like providing more information especially written is beneficial. The knowledge of the parents should be assessed and measures should be implemented to improve the knowledge of the parents, empowerment of the parents will improve the wellbeing of children with CHD.

Background: Seasonal influenza is an acute, highly infectious viral infection. Immunization of the children can protect not only the children but also the community from seasonal influenza. Parents' knowledge and attitudes can play an important role in the immunization coverage. Objectives: To assess parents' knowledge and attitudes toward childhood seasonal influenza vaccination for children aged below 5 years in Hilla governorate and to determine the relationship between them and socioeconomic status. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was done on 288 parents who visited a six randomly selected primary health care centers in Hilla city and who had children aged between (6 and 59) months. Data were collected from May 1, 2018, to August 4, 2018, by interviewing parents using a questionnaire form after taking their consent, including a full assessment of parents' attitude and knowledge toward seasonal childhood influenza vaccination. Results: The results showed that 92.7% (n = 260) of the participants had moderate and good knowledge about seasonal childhood influenza vaccination with significant association with mother's education, age, and family income and 88.9% (n = 256) of them had a positive attitude toward the vaccine which was significantly associated with the family residence, the coverage rate of the seasonal childhood influenza vaccine was 30.6%. Conclusions: The majority of participants had good and moderate knowledge and a positive attitude toward seasonal childhood influenza vaccination. Higher knowledge level was reported in mothers of younger age. A very low percentage of illiterate mothers had good knowledge. The majority of parents with good knowledge had low family income.

Objective:This study aimed to evaluate the knowledge, attitude, and practices of parents about breastfeeding, complementary food, and infant nutrition who have healthy infants born at term and under 2 years of age.Materials and Methods:This is a cross-sectional study conducted among the parents of infants who came for well-child visits to pediatric clinics of 4 hospitals. Healthy infants under 2 years of age and who had been born at term were interviewed. The questionnaire included 35 questions to evaluate parents’ knowledge, attitude, and practices about breastfeeding and infant nutrition in addition to sociodemographic data. Data were obtained via questionnaire and were analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences 20.0 package program.Results:The study group consisted of 679 infants and their parents. The median durations of exclusive breastfeeding and total breastfeeding time were found to be 4 months and 10 months. Although 75% of the participants stated that infants must be exclusively breastfed for 6 months, the rate of exclusive breastfeeding for the first 6 months was 44%. The 393 (58%) participants used formula for infant nutrition and 47 (12%) of those started with complementary feeding. 90% of the participants stated that formula advertisements did not affect their decision on starting formula but the rate of thinking that other people may be affected by the advertisements was 80%.Conclusion:The knowledge of parents on human milk is not insufficient but they need to be supported especially to continue exclusive breastfeeding during the first 6 months and appropriate complementary food during the weaning period.

BACKGROUND:To increase the utilization of preventive dental care, it is essential to improve the knowledge and attitude of parents about such cares. The aim of this study was to evaluate the knowledge, attitude, and practice of school children's parents toward fissure sealant (FS) and professional fluoride therapy in Isfahan.MATERIALS AND METHODS:In this cross-sectional study, school children's parents (n = 637) were selected based on proportional cluster sampling. A valid and reliable questionnaire was designed, including demographic section, questions about parents’ experience and their knowledge and attitude about professional fluoride and FS therapy. Data were analyzed by ANOVA, regression, Chi-square, and correlation coefficient tests.RESULTS:The means of total knowledge and knowledge about fluoride therapy and FS were 5.9 ± 4.1 out of 19, 3.3 ± 2.0 out of 9 and 2.6 ± 2.7 out of 10, respectively. The mean of attitude was 33.7 ± 5.8. The mean of knowledge toward FS therapy was significantly higher in academically educated parents (P = 0.023). The mean of total knowledge among those who received their knowledge by their dentist was also significantly higher than that of other resources such as mass media (P = 0.003). Total knowledge was positively correlated with attitude (P < 0.001, coefficient = 0.5). Of participants, 10.4% (54) and 23.2% (124) had the experience of FS and fluoride therapy, respectively.CONCLUSION:Based on the low level of knowledge regarding professional preventive care in this study and the effectiveness of knowledge acquired through dentists and mass media consultations, it might be effective to require them to consider such training more seriously.

Incorrect or insufficient child nutrition predisposing for different disease and crisis. Even it is stated at different countries, there are no studies in Ethiopia specifically in the Amara Region Awi Zone public hospitals, Northwest of Ethiopia to investigate parental nutritional awareness in childhood. To investigate parental nutritional knowledge, attitude, and practice in childhood in Awi Zone public Hospitals, Northwest Ethiopia. A cross-sectional study design with a purposive convenience sampling method was done among 297 participants. Parents of children with severe acute malnutrition were invited to complete adapted questionnaires. Details of parents' nutritional awareness (knowledge, practice, and attitude) were assessed in face-to-face structured health interviews with the data collectors. The collected data were checked, coded, and entered into Epi-info version 7 and exported to SPSS version 23 for further analysis. Descriptive statistics was applied. A total of 297 parents were involved with the mean age 29.66 ± 6.27 years. About 93% of parents were heard about their child's nutrition and 66.6% resided in rural. Overall parent's good knowledge, favorable attitude, and poor practice toward child nutrition were 50.8%, 21.2%, and 89.6%, respectively. Health institution delivery, 1.61 and 4.39 times were associated with Knowledge and attitude, respectively and good practice 2.42 times associated with Knowledge. Children with comorbidities were 4.7 and 2.32 time associated with parents' attitude and practice, respectively. Parental awareness toward child nutrition is considered a significant target for public health interventions. Delivery site, presence of comorbidities, and practice were the significant factors associated with parents' awareness. The majority of parents were aware of the positive impact of child nutrition on overall wellbeing. The State of Awi Zone, Northwest Ethiopia, would be cost-effective to train and professionally develop the Awi Zone public Hospitals and primary healthcare workers to be more experts in tackling parents' nutritional awareness by providing family counseling.

Oral health is fundamental to children's health and well-being. Parental knowledge, awareness, and practices towards oral habits significantly influence children's oral health. Early diagnosis and intervention to break abnormal oral habits are vital to prevent long-term detrimental effects on oral and facial development. This study aimed to assess parents' knowledge, awareness, and attitudes towards their children's oral habits in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. A cross-sectional study design was employed, where 2,000 participants were enrolled, of whom 563 Saudi mothers residing in Riyadh met the inclusion criteria. A validated, self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data on demographics, child information, parental awareness, and parental attitudes. Results: Regarding awareness, moderate overall awareness was reported among mothers, with the majority (over 70%) correctly identifying the negative effects of prolonged pacifier/bottle use and other habits on children's oral health. As for the attitudes, most mothers recognized the importance of stopping sucking habits (digit and/or pacifier) by 18 months and agreed that persistent oral habits cause malocclusion and growth problems. However, a significant gap existed between knowledge and practice, with most mothers (92.9%) never consulting a dentist regarding their child's ongoing oral habits. Mothers with higher education levels reported encouraging their children to stop habits and documented improvements observed after habit cessation. Conclusions: Although most mothers demonstrated moderate awareness of the detrimental effects of prolonged oral habits, a clear gap remains between knowledge and practice. This study emphasizes the need for educational programs to improve parental knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding children's oral habits. Additionally, addressing cultural beliefs and cost barriers to dental treatment could increase the utilization of dental services, improving children's oral health.

Parents' awareness of childhood mental disorders can help in early detection and management. This study aimed to assess the knowledge of parents about childhood mental disorders and their attitudes toward children with mental disorders. Parents of children attending two public primary schools in Beni-Suef city in southern Egypt were invited to participate in this cross-sectional study during the first semester of the academic year 2017/2018. Knowledge and attitude of parents toward childhood mental disorders in addition to their socio-demographic characteristics were evaluated using a self-administered questionnaire. A total of 468 parents (41.5% fathers and 58.5% mothers) participated in this study. Only 21.6% of parents had optimal knowledge of risk factors, 33.3% of manifestations/screening, 58.8% of types and 47.6% of treatment, while 42.7% of parents held a positive attitude toward impressions, 43.4% toward social distance, 63.7% toward spiritual treatment, and 59.4% toward chemotherapy and psychotherapy of childhood mental disorders. The multivariable-adjusted regression analyses showed that optimal knowledge associated with urban residence [odds ratio (OR) 1.56, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.05-2.30)] and knowing someone with a mental disorder (OR 1.62, 95% CI 1.08-2.41). The positive attitude was associated with urban residence (OR 1.80, 95% CI 1.18-2.74) and higher education (OR 2.14, 95% CI 1.32-3.48). Knowledge of parents correlated positively with their attitude toward childhood mental disorders (r = 0.258, p < 0.001). A significant portion of parents in southern Egypt have suboptimal knowledge of childhood mental disorders and hold a negative attitude toward children with mental disorders. Future studies should focus on the possibility of including parents in screening for childhood mental disorders.