Abstract

Background: Congenital heart disease (CHD) is the most common type of birth defects and remain the leading cause of death from congenital malformations. The knowledge of the parents of children with CHD; is important for the long term wellbeing of their children. In 2017 we have conducted study looking at the knowledge of the parents of children with CHD; about the disease, after that study we have implemented some measures to improve the knowledge of the parents and we wanted to see if there was any improvement in the parents knowledge.Objectives:   To   assess   the   parent’s   knowledge   regarding   diagnosis   and   management of their children with CHD. Methods:  This  is  a  prospective  questionnaire  based  study,  conducted  at  the  Paediatric Cardiology Outpatient clinic Ahmed Gasim cardiac Centre, over a Journal of Pediatrics and Neonatal CareResearch ArticleOpen Accesssix months period from June to November 2019. Results: The total study population was 120 parents of children with CHD. Of these children, females were 65 (54.2%) and males were 55 (45.8%). The most common age group was 1-5 years old, with 51 (42.5 %) children. 71 (59.2%) of the study population resided in urban areas. 103 (85.8%) of the responders were  mothers.  32  (31.0%)  mother  and  11  (64.7%)  fathers  were  >  40  years  old. 9 (52.9%) fathers and 37 (35.9%) mother were primary school graduate. 87  (84.5%)  of  the  mothers  were  housewives,  and10  (58.9%)  fathers  were  unskilled  workers.  66  (55%)  and  54  (45%)  of  the  parents  were  of  moderate  and  low  social  class  respectively.  14  (11.7%)  children  were  known  to  have  Down’s  syndrome.  60  (50%)  had  previous  cardiac  surgery,  26  (21.7%)  had  previous  cardiac  catheterizations  and  3  (2.5%)  had  documented  episodes  of  infective  endocarditis.  The  commonest  Cardiac  diagnoses  were  Ventricular  Septal  Defect  49  (40.8%),  Atrial  Septal  defect  23  (19.2%)  and  Tetralogy  of  Fallot 18 (15%). 118 (98.3%) were attending the appointment visits regularly. 119 (99.2%) confirmed that the diagnosis of their children heart problem was explained to them. 84(70%) reiterated their children heart problem correctly. 100 (83.3%) and 113 (94.2%) stated correctly the symptoms and risk factors of  Infective  Endocarditis  (IE)  respectively.  44  (36.7%)  received  information  regarding the importance of oral hygiene, 102 (85%) were aware about need for  antibiotics  before  dental  procedures  and  120  (100%)  were  aware  about  measures  to  maintain  a  good  oral  hygiene.  The  knowledge  of  parents  was  considered fair in 49 (40.8%), good in 46 (38.3%) and poor in 25 (20.8%).Conclusion: The knowledge of the parents of children with congenital heart disease  was  generally  good,  but  there  is  a  room  for  improvement.  Simple  measures  like  providing  more  information  especially  written  is  beneficial. The  knowledge  of  the  parents  should  be  assessed  and  measures  should  be  implemented  to  improve  the  knowledge  of  the  parents,  empowerment  of  the  parents will improve the wellbeing of children with CHD.

Keywords

Congenital heart disease