Evaluation of Risk Factors of Pneumonia in Children under Five Years Old at Mnazi Mmoja Hospital- Zanzibar
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Date
2021-02-03
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Publisher
Academy for Environment and Life Sciences, India
Abstract
Pneumonia remains the leading cause of death among under-five children, killing approximately 2,400 children a day. The purpose of this research is to evaluate some associated risk factors of Pneumonia among under-five children admitted at MnaziMmoja Hospital (MMH). The study was a cross-sectional descriptive hospital-based carried out in the pediatric ward of MMH from April 2020 to July 2020 after approval by the hospital's health and ethics committee. The
research instrument used was a questionnaire (open and close) and interview. A sample size of 400 under-five children and also 400 parents were employed. The children were made up of 161 males and 239 females within 0-1, 2-3, and 4-5 age brackets. The parents' age brackets were less than 18 and above 18. The research findings were analyzed using SPSS software version 15 and Epin info. The interpretation was on the basis of certain predictive factors, including
malnutrition, breastfeeding, birth weight, pneumococcal vaccine, and HIV, on how they relate to the development of Pneumonia. Pearson Chi-Square was used to compare the levels of significances. Probability values of less or equal to 0.05 were accepted to be significant. Our study recorded a high prevalence ( above 60% ) for some major risk factors, including malnutrition, low birth weight, and breastfeeding below six months duration. The study showed that a more
significant percentage of parents (55%) had no knowledge of Pneumonia and also recorded a significant association between gender and risk factors such as malnutrition, breastfeeding, and underweight children as girls were more affected. The findings showed a significant association between some major risk factors like malnutrition, low birth weight, lower duration of breastfeeding activities, and parents' educational status (p<0.05).The uneducated, 69.8%, 68.5%, and 67.2% have children with significant malnutrition levels, did not breastfeed for up to 6 months, and had children with low birthweight, respectively. The children's age group had no associationwith the risk factors, while most of the subjects under study had two risk factors.Pneumonia and malnutrition are two of the biggest killers in childhood. Education of the parents and guidelines for the care of children with Pneumonia and malnutrition needs to consider this
strong and often lethal association to contribute to the United nations' sustainable development Goal 3, aiming for substantial reductions in childhood mortality.
Description
The study was a cross-sectional descriptive hospital-based carried out in the pediatric ward of MMH from April 2020 to July 2020 after approval by the hospital's health and ethics committee.