A study to evaluate the effectiveness of structured nursing intervention on knowledge and practice regarding management and prevention of dengue fever among mothers of school going children age group 6-12 years in selected urban areas at Bhuj-Kachchh, Gujarat

Abstract

Background: Dengue has been on the rise in India since the last 5-6 years. Children are most vulnerable to this disease not only because they have a weaker immune system but also because the dengue-spreading mosquitoes bite during the day while most of us adults are indoors (either at home or office) and our children are in school, either playing, having lunch at school grounds etc. As soon as they come home and rest for a while, it’s time for their evening playtime. Hence it is important for us to understand how we can prevent diseases like dengue, especially in children.Methodology: Quantitative research approach with pre-experimental one group pre-test post-test design was adopted for this study. The samples of the study were mothers of school going children age group 6-12 years from selected urban areas and data collected by using purposive sampling technique. The sample consisted of 60 mothers of school going children age group 6-12 years. The tools used for data collection were Demographic Variables Proforma, Structured Knowledge Questionnaire and Structured Five-Point Rating Scale. Result: Study result depicted that, 76.7% (46) of mothers had inadequate knowledge, 20% (12) of mothers had moderately adequate knowledge, whereas 3.3% (02) of mothers had adequate knowledge in pre-test, whereas in post-test, 51.7% (31) of mothers had adequate knowledge, 33.3% (20) of mothers had moderately adequate knowledge and only 15% (09) of mothers had inadequate knowledge. Study result elicited that, 6.7% (04) of mothers had satisfactory practice, 25% (15) of mothers had moderately satisfactory practice, whereas 68.3% (41) of mothers had unsatisfactory practice in pre-test. Post-test practice score reveals, 48.3% (29) of mothers had satisfactory practice, 30% (18) of mothers had moderately satisfactory practice and only 21.7% (13) of mothers had unsatisfactory practice. The obtained ‘t’ value is t=21.525 for pre-test and post-test level of knowledge, is statistically highly significant at p<0.001 level (df =59: table value is p=3.46). The obtained ‘t’ value is t=13.18 for pre-test and post-test level of practice, is statistically highly significant at p<0.001 level (df=59: table value is p=3.46). Therefore, the researcher rejected null hypothesis.Conclusion: Study results showed most of mothers gained adequate knowledge and satisfactory practise in post-test. Thus, it can be concluded that Structured Nursing Intervention on Dengue Fever was effective to increase and update mother’s knowledge and practise regarding prevention and management of Dengue Fever.