Frequency of Deworming, Parental Perception and Factors Associated with the Practice of Deworming School-age Children in North-East Nigeria
Madubueze Ugochukwu Chinyem *
Department of Community Medicine, Federal Teaching Hospital Abakaliki, Ebonyi State, Nigeria.
Una Alfred Friday
Department of Community Medicine, Federal Teaching Hospital Abakaliki, Ebonyi State, Nigeria
Tafawa Balewa Ibrahim
Earth Green Concepts, B288 Wunti Street, Wunti, Bauchi State, Nigeria.
Iwu Anthony Chinedu
Department of Community Medicine, Imo State University Teaching Hospital, Orlu, Imo State, Nigeria.
Azuogu Benedict Ndubueze
Department of Community Medicine, Federal Teaching Hospital Abakaliki, Ebonyi State, Nigeria.
Madubueze Christian Chukwuemeka
Department of Surgery, National Hospital Abuja, FCT, Nigeria.
Khalid Kasimu
Earth Green Concepts, B288 Wunti Street, Wunti, Bauchi State, Nigeria.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Aims: To assess the frequency of deworming among school children, assess parental perception of the practice and the factors influencing school child deworming practices among the parents/guardians in Bauchi State.
Study Design: It was a descriptive cross-sectional study carried out in Bauchi State North-East Nigeria in March 2016 among parents/guardians of primary school pupils. A multi-stage sampling technique was used to select 12 out of 36 primary schools for the study.
Methods: There were 598 participants. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to elicit variables such as frequency of de-worming, parental perception and predictors of parents/guardian deworming practices.
Results: Nearly half 272 (45.5%) of the guardians were aware of deworming, while only 118 (19.7%) of their school children had been dewormed but 572 (95.7%) guardians saw deworming as an important practice and 560 (93.6%) wanted their children dewormed. Binary logistic regression showed that being a male child and having a previously dewormed child were positive predictors for the practice of school children’s deworming.
Conclusion: The frequency of de-worming practice is low in North-East Nigeria, this was majorly due to lack of awareness. This underscores the need for scaling-up of deworming exercises alongside sensitization and health education of parents/ guardian of primary school pupils.
Keywords: Frequency, parental perception, deworming, school-age children.