Department of Paediatrics, College of Medicine, University of Nigeria Enugu Campus, Nsukka, Enugu, Nigeria.
Department of Paediatrics, Enugu State University Teaching Hospital, Nsukka, Enugu, Nigeria.
PLoS One. 2020 Nov 19;15(11):e0242650. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0242650. eCollection 2020.
The use of face masks by children for the prevention of COVID 19 is still controversial, especially with regards to who should wear the face mask and at what age.
The study aimed to ascertain the perception of mothers on masking in children as a preventive strategy for COVID-19.
This was a cross-sectional study carried out in two health institutions among 387 mothers who presented with their children for the first time in the hospital during the COVID 19 pandemic. A pretested, semi-structured, interviewer-administered questionnaire which was designed by the researchers was used for data collection.
Minority (44.7%) of the mothers perceived masking in children as an appropriate measure for the prevention of COVID-19. The frequent reasons given by majority (55.3%) of the mothers for the inappropriateness of face mask in children included perceived difficulty in breathing (38.5%) and the child's readiness to pull it off (29.3%). A significantly higher proportion of the children whose mothers were 35 years and above, 64.2% would wear face masks when compared with 31.7% of those whose mothers were < 30 years of age (χ2 = 28.632, p<0.001). Similarly, a significantly higher proportion (51.0%) of the children who were more than one year of age would wear a face mask when compared with 20.5% of those aged eight days to one year (χ2 = 19.441, p<0.001). The children whose mothers were <30 years were about four times less likely to wear a face mask when compared with those whose mothers were aged 35 years and above. (AOR = 0.273; 95%CI: 0.155-0.478). The children whose fathers have attained tertiary education were about twice less likely to wear face masks when compared with those whose fathers have attained secondary education and less. (AOR = 0.554; 95%CI: 0.334-0.919). Mothers' perception of COVID-19 had no significant influence on children's use of face mask (χ2 = 2.337, p = 0.127).
Maternal perception of masking in children as an appropriate strategy for preventing COVID-19 is adjudged low in this study. Right perception is significantly enhanced by maternal educational status, employment and marital status.
儿童佩戴口罩预防 COVID-19 的做法仍存在争议，尤其是关于谁应该戴口罩以及在什么年龄段戴口罩。
本研究旨在确定母亲对儿童佩戴口罩作为 COVID-19 预防策略的看法。
这是一项在 COVID-19 大流行期间在两家医疗机构中进行的横断面研究，共有 387 名母亲带着第一次来医院的孩子参与了研究。研究人员设计了一份经过预测试的半结构式访谈式问卷用于数据收集。
少数（44.7%）母亲认为儿童佩戴口罩是预防 COVID-19 的适当措施。大多数（55.3%）母亲认为不适合给儿童戴口罩的常见原因包括呼吸困难（38.5%）和儿童容易摘下口罩（29.3%）。与 30 岁以下母亲的孩子相比，年龄在 35 岁及以上母亲的孩子戴口罩的比例明显更高，为 64.2%，而 30 岁以下母亲的孩子为 31.7%（χ2 = 28.632，p<0.001）。同样，与 8 天至 1 岁的孩子相比，年龄超过 1 岁的孩子戴口罩的比例也明显更高，为 51.0%，而 8 天至 1 岁的孩子为 20.5%（χ2 = 19.441，p<0.001）。与年龄在 35 岁及以上的母亲的孩子相比，年龄在 30 岁以下的母亲的孩子戴口罩的可能性要低四倍左右（AOR = 0.273；95%CI：0.155-0.478）。与父亲接受过中等教育的孩子相比，父亲接受过高等教育的孩子戴口罩的可能性要低一半左右（AOR = 0.554；95%CI：0.334-0.919）。母亲对 COVID-19 的认知对儿童使用口罩没有显著影响（χ2 = 2.337，p = 0.127）。
在本研究中，母亲认为儿童佩戴口罩是预防 COVID-19 的适当策略的看法较低。母亲的受教育程度、就业状况和婚姻状况显著提高了正确认知。
