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PARENTAL AWARENESS AND MANAGEMENT OF ACUTE OTITIS MEDIA THAT AFFECTS THEIR CHILDREN IN ALAHSSA, SAUDI ARABIA

Khalid A. AlYahya, Fatima A. Majrabi, Zahra’a A. AlAhmad, Hibah F. Althuwaini

Background: Acute otitis media is a common community-acquired infection. The aim of this study was to assess the parents' awareness and knowledge about acute otitis media and its management. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in Al-Hassa, Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province. The sample size was statistically calculated with confidence level of 95% and margin of error 5%, sample size: 385. Data were distributed and collected among parents, who having children aged 2 -10 years old, in order to assess their knowledge regarding acute otitis media and their insight about the dealing actions that must be taken in such a situation. Results: The results in our study showed that more than half 57.6% of the parents agreed that acute otitis media is associated with a combination of earache, discharge from ear, nasal congestion and/or rhinorrhea. Regarding the cause of acute otitis media, more than half (53.2%) of all respondents did not know the cause. Regarding the role of antibiotics in the management of acute otitis media, 44.3% of the parent’s view that it is necessary, while 15.6% did not agree with them. Conclusions: Our study showed that parents have a good awareness regarding otitis media as a disease with its manifestations but there’s an obvious lack of knowledge regarding its management particularly the usage of antibiotics. Keywords: Acute otitis media, Parents, Awareness, knowledge, Antibiotics.

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