Attitudes, Practices and Understanding of health workers and caregivers regarding the relationship between severe pneumonia and malnutrition in children: A Qualitative Study.
Caregivers
Health workers
Malnutrition
Nutrition
Pneumonia
perceptions
practices
Journal
Research square
Titre abrégé: Res Sq
Pays: United States
ID NLM: 101768035
Informations de publication
Date de publication:
09 Oct 2023
09 Oct 2023
Historique:
pubmed:
27
10
2023
medline:
27
10
2023
entrez:
27
10
2023
Statut:
epublish
Résumé
Severe Pneumonia is still the leading cause of morbidity and mortality among children worldwide. Many children with severe pneumonia are reported to die in hospital as well as following discharge due to malnutrition. Severe pneumonia is a catabolic illness, which predisposes to severe malnutrition. WHO and United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), recommend 'continued' feeding but do not give any specific recommendations for nutritional support. This could influence health workers' and caregivers' attitudes, practices and understanding regarding the topic. This study aimed to explore the attitudes, practices and understanding of health workers regarding the relationship between severe pneumonia and malnutrition. We conducted an exploratory qualitative study among health workers and caregivers of children hospitalized with severe pneumonia at Mulago National Referral Hospital in Uganda. Data were collected using focus-groups involving caregivers and key informant interviews with health workers and analysed using the content-thematic analysis approach. Both manual coding and Atlas Ti software were used to support the analysis. Some of the health workers and caregivers were aware of the relationship between severe pneumonia and malnutrition to various degrees, citing reduced appetite, difficulty in breathing and persistent vomiting as pathways to malnutrition in patients with severe pneumonia, which called for a balanced diet and more frequent breastfeeding. Suppressed immunity in malnourished children was mentioned as the pathway to severe pneumonia. Some caregivers confessed not knowing anything about the relationship between the two conditions. Attitudes, practices and understanding regarding the deadly relationship between severe pneumonia and malnutrition among care givers could further be improved by health education and mass sensitization. Clarifying practice guidelines could further enhance attitudes and practices of health workers to reduce preventable pneumonia deaths.
Sections du résumé
Background
UNASSIGNED
Severe Pneumonia is still the leading cause of morbidity and mortality among children worldwide. Many children with severe pneumonia are reported to die in hospital as well as following discharge due to malnutrition. Severe pneumonia is a catabolic illness, which predisposes to severe malnutrition. WHO and United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), recommend 'continued' feeding but do not give any specific recommendations for nutritional support. This could influence health workers' and caregivers' attitudes, practices and understanding regarding the topic. This study aimed to explore the attitudes, practices and understanding of health workers regarding the relationship between severe pneumonia and malnutrition.
Methods
UNASSIGNED
We conducted an exploratory qualitative study among health workers and caregivers of children hospitalized with severe pneumonia at Mulago National Referral Hospital in Uganda. Data were collected using focus-groups involving caregivers and key informant interviews with health workers and analysed using the content-thematic analysis approach. Both manual coding and Atlas Ti software were used to support the analysis.
Results
UNASSIGNED
Some of the health workers and caregivers were aware of the relationship between severe pneumonia and malnutrition to various degrees, citing reduced appetite, difficulty in breathing and persistent vomiting as pathways to malnutrition in patients with severe pneumonia, which called for a balanced diet and more frequent breastfeeding. Suppressed immunity in malnourished children was mentioned as the pathway to severe pneumonia. Some caregivers confessed not knowing anything about the relationship between the two conditions.
Conclusion
UNASSIGNED
Attitudes, practices and understanding regarding the deadly relationship between severe pneumonia and malnutrition among care givers could further be improved by health education and mass sensitization. Clarifying practice guidelines could further enhance attitudes and practices of health workers to reduce preventable pneumonia deaths.
Identifiants
pubmed: 37886594
doi: 10.21203/rs.3.rs-3386868/v1
pmc: PMC10602102
pii:
doi:
Types de publication
Preprint
Langues
eng
Subventions
Organisme : FIC NIH HHS
ID : R25 TW011213
Pays : United States
Déclaration de conflit d'intérêts
Competing interests The authors declare that they have no competing interests.