Aims: Anaemia in children aged 6 - 59 months is an important public health problem associated\nwith increasing hospital costs, lengths of hospital stay, and development of complications later in\nlife. Due to the significant caregiver roles of mothers, the level of mothers� knowledge, beliefs and\npractices are important in addressing anaemia in children. This study investigated knowledge, attitudes,\nbeliefs, and practices of select mothers on anaemia and linked these with known factors\nfor anaemia. Methodology: The case study was conducted at Mkuranga District Hospital, Paediatric\nWard between December 2014 and April 2015. A cross-sectional design was used to recruit a\nconvenience sample of 40 mothers whose children had a confirmed diagnosis of anaemia (through\nroutine laboratory testing). Results: Within the sample, the majority of children were male\n(52.5%); aged 6 - 39 months (87.5%); and had a diagnosis of severe anaemia (75.0%) according to\nthe World Health Organization�s definition. Over one third (35%) of mothers reported a prior history\nof anemia in their other children, and the majority (55%) had heard about anaemia prior to\ntheir child�s hospitalization. Maternal anaemia was reported by 67.5% of mothers. Mothers reported\nthat maternal anemia (17.5%) and feeding practices (32.5%) are known contributing factors\nto anaemia in children. Mothers reported that anemia could be prevented (55.0%) and cured\nby herbal preparations (47.5%). In addition, some mothers indicated that anaemia was caused by\nwitchcraft (22.5%) and eating lemons (2.5%). Conclusion: Severe anaemia was high among the\nstudied population which aligned with their hospitalization status. Findings suggested potential gaps in control and management of anemia in children possibly related to low awareness or incorrect\nknowledge of the relationship between maternal and child anaemia. The findings also highlighted\nimportant cultural beliefs related to anaemia. There is an imperative for culturally and\nsocially appropriate knowledge translation and exchange with mothers in order to impact on the\nprevention and control of anaemia in children in Tanzania.
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