Assessment of Parents' Awareness of Urinary Tract Infections (UTIs) in Infants and Children and Related Demographic Factors: A Cross-sectional Study

Background: Urinary tract infection (UTI) is the second most common infection in children. Parents’ lack of awareness and information about UTIs ultimately leads to delayed referral for treatment, which raises many concerns in parents. Objectives: The research aimed to evaluate the parental awareness of UTIs in infants and children and related demographic factors. Methods: In this cross-sectional analytical study, 270 parents who had a child or infant with UTIs referring to the Nephrology Clinic of Mohammad Kermanshahi Hospital in Kermanshah, Iran, in 2018 were selected by a convenience sampling method. To analyze the data, the chi-square test and Fisher's exact test were used. Results: According to the results, the parental awareness of the symptoms of UTIs in children was moderate, and the overall score on the awareness of complications, treatment, prevention, and diagnosis of UTIs in children was high. There were statistically significant relationships between the parental age and knowledge of UTI treatment in children, between paternal education and treatment and diagnosis and the total score of knowledge on UTIs in children, and between maternal education and awareness of the symptoms and how to prevent UTIs. Further, there was a statistical relationship between the children’s history of UTIs and the awareness of how to diagnose and treat UTIs in children (P < 0.05). Conclusions: Given the results, educational programs must be promoted to raise parents' awareness of UTIs in infants and children, especially UTI symptoms in lower educated, elderly parents whose other children have not had any history of UTIs.