Study on the Knowledge and Behavior for Enterovirus Prevention in Primary Caregivers of Preschool Children in Central Taiwan, 2016

Study on the Knowledge and Behavior for Enterovirus Prevention in Primary Caregivers of Preschool Children in Central Taiwan, 2016

This study investigated the present situation of the knowledge and behavior for enterovirus prevention among primary caregivers of two to six year-old preschool children in central Taiwan and analyzed the association between demographic factors and the knowledge and behavior of enterovirus prevention. Self-designed questionnaire, named “The cognition and preventive behavior for enterovirus prevention in primary caregivers of preschool children in central Taiwan”, was used as the study tool. Using stratified random sampling, we distributed the questionnaire to 1,010 primary caregivers in public and private preschools and received 931 responses; 901 (89.2%) questionnaires were complete and valid. The correctness of knowledge of enterovirus prevention in primary caregivers was 82.7% (average score = 16.5, total score = 20), and the performance of primary caregivers' behavior for enterovirus prevention was 73.2% (average score = 58.6, total score = 80). The primary caregivers' behavior for enterovirus prevention was significantly associated with their knowledge in enterovirus, caregivers' residence, occupation, age, monthly household income, past history of enterovirus infection among their children, and education level. We suggested preschool educators to share enterovirus-related information with primary caregivers, in particular to those with lower education levels or low household incomes, thereby enhancing their behavior against enterovirus.