Parents' perceived knowledge and beliefs on congenital malformations and their causes in the Amhara region, Ethiopia. A qualitative study

INTRODUCTION

Knowledge and beliefs of people on congenital malformations and their causes differ from society to society. As a result, there is a paucity of understanding community perceived knowledge and beliefs towards congenital malformations and their risk factors among children's parents. Therefore, I sought to identify perceived knowledge and beliefs of parents on congenital malformations and their causes.

METHODS

An in-depth discussion and interview were carried out on purposively selected forty participants (women and men) in the Amhara region, Ethiopia. The data were collected from June to July, 2015. Semi-structured guiding topics/questions were used during the discussions and in-depth interviews. Note and audio records were taken while the participants discussed the topics. After the discussions and in-depth interviews were completed, the transcripts were read repeatedly to understand the participant's words, phrases, ideas, and concepts. Then notes were taken to combine pieces of similar transcripts. I have employed thematic framework analysis. The relevant transcripts were scrutinized, labeled and coded manually based on their relevance to the objective of the study. Then the coded transcripts were determined and categorized according to the type of thematic variables.

RESULTS

The participants responded on three aspects of lived experience, perceived knowledge and beliefs on congenital malformations and their causes. Nearly half of the participants' beliefs on the causes of congenital malformations were related to sin, contraceptive pills, un-prescribed drugs/medication use, and fertilizers (that is eating crops grown by using fertilizers). Almost all said that raising a child with a major congenital malformation was very difficult. About half of the participants' belief on congenital malformations were traditional and resulted from poor awareness.

CONCLUSION

The findings of the present study highlight the challenges and impacts of congenital malformations on parents who had children with and without congenital malformation. Lived experience, perceived knowledge and beliefs of children parents on congenital malformation and their causes can be helpful information for designing preventive actions. Hence, planning a preventive strategy and providing health education on congenital malformations and their causes for children parents are very necessary.

Parental perceptions of congenital cardiovascular malformations in their children

We assessed parental attitudes towards congenital cardiovascular malformations in their children in a cross-sectional study in Egypt. Parents face many problems related to concerns about their child's prognosis, but these associations with parental stress have never been evaluated in Egypt or examined in relation to religiosity in a predominantly Muslim society. Accordingly, we conducted interviews in Cairo with mothers of 99 sequential infants born with conotruncal heart malformations (cases) and 65 mothers of age-matched controls. The survey assessed healthcare access and usage, knowledge of congenital cardiovascular malformations, religiosity, the Locus of Control Scale, and the Parenting Stress Index. Results showed that 45% of the mothers of cases had correct knowledge about their child's diagnosis; 85% were satisfied with the clinical care; and 79% reported that the cost of care was burdensome. Compared with parents of cases, parents of controls were more likely to report stress overall and all its subscales. Regarding belief about locus of control over health, God as a determining factor was given the highest endorsement. Mothers in the congenital cardiovascular malformations group reported a higher level of parental locus of control than did those in the control group. The correlations between stress and locus of control were stronger in the control than in the case group. Religiosity was related neither to stress nor to locus of control. Future studies can explore the roles that personal, familial, and societal factors play in exacerbating or reducing stress levels among parents of sick children, particularly in developing countries where economic pressures are acute.