Awareness of bacterial meningitis amongst parents of young children

Abstract

Bacterial meningitis is one of the most overwhelming infectious diseases. The literature indicates that children under the five years of age are more susceptible to contract the disease with most of the episodes arising in the first year of life. The sometimes uncharacteristic and subtle manifestations of meningitis may result in the nonrecognition of the disease, leading to fatal and highly disabling complications. Consequently it emerges that prompt recognition depends on parents' detection of the infection and their seeking medical attention. This information as well as a disturbing personal experience has motivated the undergraduate student to conduct a research study aimed at exploring the awareness of bacterial meningitis amongst parents of young children. The main objectives of the study focused on examining parents' knowledge not only regarding the presentation, recognition and sequelae of the disease but also to gain an insight on the features that would trigger suspicion of meningitis and thus the need for medical consultation. Moreover, parental awareness of anti-meningeal vaccinations, aimed at preventing the infection was explored. In order to carry out this small-scale study, the researcher opted for a quantitative and non-experimental descriptive approach. The required information was collected by means of a self-administered questionnaire distributed to a conveniently sampled group of parents attending with their young child for well-baby and immunization appointments at a local health centre. Of the 38 parents approached, 36 agreed to participate in the study, granting a high response rate of 94.7%. The data collected was manually analysed with the use of Microsoft Excel 2010, yielding statistical data. The main findings describe how compared to the knowledge on the signs and symptoms of the infection, parents participating in this research study seem to have a clearer idea on the possible complications of bacterial meningitis. Moreover, although presenting an acceptable level of awareness on the specific manifestations of meningitis, the majority of the parents would contact a physician for more general symptoms suggesting a lack of knowledge on what they need to be vigilant for. With regards to prevention, it emerges that amongst this study's parental population, the main barrier to the uptake of anti-meningeal vaccination is the lack of information. Despite relying on various sources of information, mostly informal ones, most of the parents acknowledge having been inadequately advised in the past. Thus they not only feel the need for more awareness but also recognize health care professionals, especially paediatricians, as key informants. In view of these conclusions, a number of recommendations were drawn out. Current lack of knowledge compels for health promotion campaigns aimed at presenting bacterial meningitis as a vaccine-preventable infection. In addition, further qualitative research would provide a more exhaustive comprehension of parental awareness.