Mothers' Knowledge and Practice about Conjunctivitis in Early Childhood at Assiut Ophthalmology Hospital

Abstract

Conjunctivitis is an inflammation due to infection in the lining over the eyeball and inside the eyelids. Inflammation can cause blood vessels in the eye to become larger; this makes the white of the eye look pink or red. Conjunctivitis is common among children under five years of age. Aims: To assess mothers' knowledge and practice about conjunctivitis in early childhood (< 5 years) at Assuit Ophthalmology Hospital. Design: Descriptive research design was used. Setting: The study was conducted in outpatient clinic at Assuit Ophthalmology Hospital. The Subjects: subject consisted of 200 mothers having children at early childhood (< 5 years) and suffering from conjunctivitis. Results: Results revealed that more than two fifths of them aged 1-< 3 years. Female constituted 52.0% of the studied children. The majority of mothers lived in rural areas. The vast majority of them had poor knowledge and practice about conjunctivitis at Assuit Ophthalmology Hospital. Conclusions: There were significant relations between mothers' education, occupation, their knowledge and practice regarding early childhood conjunctivitis at Assuit Ophthalmology Hospital. Recommendation: Follow up sheet to every child has conjunctivitis frequently to identify causes of his recurrent infection and prevent it before complications that are avoidable before occurring.