Knowledge of Mothers Towards Febrile Seizure in Children Under Five Years Ages in Karbala City, 2023

Abstract

Background:

Febrile convulsion is the most common type of seizure in the children, It typically manifests as a temperature of 38°C or above in the absence of a central nervous system infection, metabolic disorder, or prior history of febrile seizures It affects children from six months to five years old, with a peak incidence between the ages of 12 and 18 months, it is also one of the most frequent causes of emergency hospital admissions in children under five years of age it is extremely frightening, emotionally traumatic, and anxiety provoking when witnessed by parents, which make it a very difficult condition for them to deal with, To decrease parental anxiety, it is important that parents have proper knowledge about febrile seizure and its prognosis.

Objective:

This study aims to assess the knowledge of mothers towards febrile convulsion in children under five years in Karbala city and to assess the factor associated with their knowledge.

Patients and methods:

A cross-sectional study was conducted on160 mothers with children who have febrile convulsion in multiple health institutes in Karbala City through face-to-face interviews using a prepared questionnaire, The data collection was conducted using convenience sampling over five months duration from the 10th of April 2023 till 15th of August 2023, data collected 2 days per week the interview took 15-20 minutes. SPSS version 28.00 was used to perform statistical analysis. The means of the groups were compared using independent samples t‑test and ANOVA.

Results:

the mothers' mean knowledge score was 3.23 (SD 1.60) out of eleven points, The majority of mothers (59.40%) had a poor knowledge level.

Conclusion:

There was poor knowledge among mothers toward FC. Better knowledge was associated with having higher mothers’ educational level, advanced mothers age, employed mothers, high income, urban residence.