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Objective: To assess and compare the knowledge, attitude, and practice of mothers of pre-school children in urban and rural areas toward maintaining child oral health. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional comparative study was conducted in a convenient sample of 400 mothers of pre-school children (aged 9 months to 3 years) visiting the outpatient department of the Department of Dentistry, Shyam Shah Medical College, Rewa (M.P), India between February 1 and April 21, 2022. The study sample was divided into two groups based on whether they belonged to a rural area (Group A) or urban area (Group B). Group A included 236 participants, and Group B 186 participants. They were served a 24-item questionnaire to assess and compare their knowledge, attitude, and practice toward child oral health. The data were represented as mean and proportions, and a student t test and analysis of variance were performed. Results: In Group A and Group B, 93.64% and 98.17% mothers respectively had the knowledge of cariogenic food. While 66.10% of mothers in Group A and 73.78% in Group B were aware that regular cleaning of teeth protects against tooth decay, only 5.49% of mothers in Group B and none in Group A reported taking their children to routine dental visits; the majority (94.07% in Group A and 78.05% in Group B) had never taken their children to the dentist. Urban background was significantly associated with better knowledge, attitude, and practice scores. Mother's' age and education level were significantly associated with better Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice scores in both groups. Conclusion: Mothers can play an important role in promoting positive attitudes and healthy practices toward oral health care in children. Knowledge, attitude, and practice score were found to be significantly low in mothers who belonged to the rural subgroup.
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INTRODUCTION: Knowledge of pathogens causing infections in young infants (up to 90 days of life) is essential for devising community-based management strategies. Most etiological data from developing countries are hospital-based and may have little relevance to communities in which most babies are born at home. METHODS: We searched the literature for studies from developing countries reporting etiology of community-acquired infections (sepsis, pneumonia, meningitis) published since 1980. Hospital-based studies reporting early onset sepsis, sepsis among babies admitted from, or born at home were included. RESULTS: Of 63 studies, 13 focused on community-acquired infections, but limited data were available from home-born neonates. In the first week of life (3209 isolates), Klebsiella species (25%), Escherichia coli (15%), and Staphylococcus aureus (18%) were major pathogens. Group B streptococci (GBS) were relatively uncommon (7%), although regional differences existed. After the first week of life (835 isolates), S. aureus (14%), GBS (12%), Streptococcus pneumoniae (12%), and nontyphoidal Salmonella species (13%) were most frequent. S. pneumoniae (27%) was most common in the postneonatal period (among 141 isolates). Gram-negatives predominated (77%) among home-delivered babies (among 170 isolates). CONCLUSIONS: Limited information is available on etiology of serious bacterial infections in community settings. Hospital-based studies suggest that most infections in the first week of life are due to Gram-negative pathogens, and many may be environmentally rather than maternally-acquired, owing to unhygienic delivery practices. Such practices may also explain the predominance of Gram-negative infections among home-born infants, although data from home settings are limited. These findings have implications for developing prevention and management strategies in communities and hospitals.