Assessing the knowledge, attitude and practice regarding child care among the fathers of under five children in ramnagar area: A cross-sectional study

Abstract

Children are the brightest treasures brought forth into this world because they comprise major assets of the national human resource of any country. The objective of the study was to assess the knowledge, attitude and practices of the fathers of under five children regarding child care.A community based cross sectional study was conducted among fathers of under five children at Ram nagar area, Belagavi. Pretested and predesigned questionnaire was used to collect information. Analysis of data was done by using SPSS software version 20. Percentage and chi-square test were calculated to find out association. It was found that ,majority (52%) of the fathers had good knowledge about child care, (26.5%) had average knowledge and only (21.5%) had poor knowledge. 80.5% of fathers had positive attitude while (19.5%) had average attitude towards child care. Regarding practice, (45.5%) of fathers did poor practice, (30.5%) were on average and only (24%) did good practice. A significant difference in the level of knowledge and attitude was seen with age, socio-economic status and education at P<0.05. It was concluded thar most of the fathers were having good knowledge and attitude regarding child care but they were less involved in child care practices. Key Words: Child care, knowledge, attitude, practice, Fathers involvement.