Mettu Karl Referral Hospital, Mettu, Ethiopia.
Department of Biology, Debre Markos University, Debre Markos, Ethiopia.
Front Public Health. 2023 Jul 13;11:1166976. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2023.1166976. eCollection 2023.
Sunlight is essential for the synthesis of vitamin D and supports bone growth and strength. The awareness of mothers about the benefit of exposing their infants to sunlight, as well as the practice of doing so, is important to a child's proper growth and development. The current study looked into mothers' knowledge, practice, and factors related to infant sunlight exposure in rural villages in the Mettu district, southwest Ethiopia.
A community-based cross-sectional study design was utilized with randomly selected mothers of newborns from rural areas in the Mettu district. A structured questionnaire was used to collect information. Analysis of the data was performed using the SPSS version 21 software. Both descriptive and inferential analyses were carried out, and < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.
Among the 600 mothers who participated in the present study, 397 (66.2%) had good knowledge and 346 (57.7%) practiced proper exposure of their infants to sunlight. Out of the 482 mothers who practiced sunning, 382 (79.3%) did it daily, and 409 (84.8%) began sunning before 45 days of birth. However, 453 (94%) of the mothers used lubricants while sunbathing. Sociodemographic characteristics were found to have statistically significant associations with the level of knowledge and practice of mothers. Mothers with four to six children [AOR = 0.511, 95% CI: (0.352-0.741)] and those who got the information from health professionals [AOR = 3.285, 95% CI: (2.154, 5.011)] for the knowledge level, and mothers aged 36 years old and above [AOR = 0.801, 95% CI: (0.533, 0.161)], who were married during the data collection period [AOR = 0.370, 95% CI: (0.155, 0.884)], and employed by the government [AOR = 4.081, CI: (1.477, 11.280)] for the practice level were found to be significantly ( < 0.05) associated with the level of infant sunning.
Despite the fact that the majority of mothers in the study area had good knowledge and practice of infant sunlight exposure, there are clear signs that further work is needed to narrow the large gap seen in the present findings. Thus, district and zonal health offices, as well as stakeholders working with children, should start periodical maternity health education, and professional development training for health post workers.
阳光对于维生素 D 的合成至关重要，并且有助于骨骼生长和强度。母亲对让婴儿晒太阳的益处的认识，以及实际这样做，对于孩子的正常生长发育非常重要。目前的研究调查了埃塞俄比亚西南部梅图地区农村村庄中母亲对婴儿阳光照射的知识、实践和相关因素。
本研究采用基于社区的横断面研究设计，从梅图区农村地区随机选择新生儿的母亲。使用结构化问卷收集信息。使用 SPSS 版本 21 软件对数据进行分析。进行了描述性和推论性分析，并且 < 0.05 被认为具有统计学意义。
在参加本研究的 600 位母亲中，有 397 位（66.2%）具有良好的知识，有 346 位（57.7%）对婴儿进行了适当的阳光暴露。在 482 位进行日光浴的母亲中，有 382 位（79.3%）每天进行日光浴，有 409 位（84.8%）在出生后 45 天之前开始日光浴。但是，有 453 位（94%）母亲在日光浴时使用了润滑剂。社会人口统计学特征与母亲的知识和实践水平具有统计学显著关联。有 4 到 6 个孩子的母亲 [比值比（AOR）=0.511，95%置信区间（CI）：（0.352-0.741）]和从卫生专业人员那里获得信息的母亲 [AOR=3.285，95% CI：（2.154, 5.011）]，以及年龄在 36 岁及以上的母亲 [AOR=0.801，95% CI：（0.533, 0.161）]，在数据收集期间结婚的母亲 [AOR=0.370，95% CI：（0.155, 0.884）]和受雇于政府的母亲 [AOR=4.081，CI：（1.477, 11.280）]，在婴儿日光浴水平方面存在显著关联（ < 0.05）。
尽管研究区域的大多数母亲对婴儿阳光照射有很好的认识和实践，但明显需要进一步的工作来缩小本研究中发现的巨大差距。因此，地区和区卫生办公室以及与儿童一起工作的利益相关者应开始定期进行产妇健康教育，并为卫生所工作人员提供专业发展培训。
