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Knowledge, attitude and perception of respondents in a rural Nigerian community concerning the passage of discoloured urine in childhood


OT Adedoyin
KJ Afolabi

Abstract

Background: Discolouration of urine in children raises concern among the general populace and forms a reason for consultation of physicians and other health workers. Anecdotally, it seems there is an awareness of what constitute discoloured urine. However, there is no documented report of the knowledge, attitude and perception of people to it.
Objective: To determine the knowledge, attitude and perception of discoloured urine in children by respondents in a rural community in Nigeria.
Methodology: The study was carried out in Iponrin, in Ilorin East Local Government Area of Nigeria with the aid of pre-tested questionnaires, which sought information on issues related to knowledge, attitude and perception of discoloured urine in children.
Results: There were a total of 109 respondents comprising 64 (59%) males and 45 (41%) females with a mean age of 30 ± 16 years. Most of the respondents 87 (82%) have seen children with discolouration of urine and 65 (65%) respondents claimed that such children received treatment from a health facility. Furthermore majority of the respondents 55 (57%) reported that none of these children they saw developed anuria, while 93 (87%) respondents felt such children would survive.
Conclusion: The study showed that respondents in the study community had an understanding of when urine colour is normal or abnormal. They are also aware that it could be caused by diseases and would therefore require treatment in a health facility. However, they did not know that it could cause anuria in some cases. We therefore recommend further enlightenment on the complication that may follow passage of discoloured urine.

Keywords: knowledge, attitude, perception, discoloured urine, children

Sahel Medical Journal Vol. 8(1) 2005: 20-22

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eISSN: 1118-8561