Syrian refugee mothers’ knowledge levels of childhood wellness: a program evaluation

Abstract

Background: Children are most affected by migration and wars. The health of child asylum seekers is adversely affected due to poor nutrition, malnutrition, insufficient vaccinations, and a lack of preventive health-care services (PHCS). The aim of this study was to determine the knowledge levels of the refugee mothers of child wellness monitoring, child vaccinations, and the importance of breastfeeding before and after implementation of an educational program. Materials and Methods: A questionnaire consisting of 12 statements about the importance of child wellness monitoring, child vaccinations, and breastfeeding was prepared and translated into Arabic. Refugee mothers were asked to complete the questionnaire before and after the education program. Results: Thirty-one (72.1%) of the 43 participating mothers had their children vaccinated regularly. Vitamin D supplementation was given to 58.1%, and 23.1% were started on iron supplementation. The rate of vitamin D supplementation was higher in the literate mothers (P = 0.010). The least correctly answered statement before the education program was related to iron supplementation (n = 24, 55.8%). The mean (standard deviation) number of correct answers given by the participating mothers to the 12 statements before the seminar was 9.16 (±2.05), this increased to 11.16 (±0.99) after the seminar. Conclusion: The results of this study show that refugee mothers’ knowledge levels about vitamin D and iron supplementation are quite low. Their knowledge levels can be increased in the short term by providing information in the mothers’ native languages.

Keywords

• child health
• mothers
• primary health care
• refugee