Abstract:
Background: Intestinal parasites (IP) are a major public health problem in several developing
countries. It accounts for 1.5 billion infections with one or more intestinal parasitic agents. The
prevalence of helminthiases in Ethiopia is 29.8% with variable degree of prevalence among the
different regions. Young children have a high infestation rate and suffer a substantial burden
of Ascaris lumbricoides, Trichuris trichiura, and Schistosomes. Intestinal parasitic infections
have serious consequences for human health; such as hepatomegaly, splenomegaly, esophageal
varices, and delay in physical development. Therefore, this study was intended to assess
mothers’ knowledge, attitude, and practice on prevention and control of intestinal parasitic
infestations.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out on 378 mothers who had under six and over
two year old children. Although 384 mothers were selected using sample size calculation, the
data were collected from 378 mother-child pairs using a face to face interview-based
questionnaire. The level of maternal knowledge, attitude, and practice are presented in the form
of percentage, frequency, and tables. In order to ensure the quality of data, in all of the data
collection, data analysis, and write up, a standard operational procedure was followed.
Results: The overall level of good maternal knowledge, positive attitude, and good practice in
preventing and controlling intestinal parasitic infection concerning pre-school children in Sekota
town was 45.2%, 55.3%, and 51.1% respectively. Seventy-seven (20.4%) respondents reported
that they knew about A. lumbricoides, and 62 (16.4%) participants washed vegetables as a means
of intestinal prevention.
Conclusion: The overall level of optimum knowledge, attitude, and practice of mothers on
prevention and control of intestinal parasites is significantly low. Therefore, community
awareness about intestinal parasitic infestation prevention and control should be created through
campaigns or structured training.
