Factors Predicting Severity of Respiratory Infection in Children Aged 2 to 6 Years
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Abstract
This predictive correlational study aimed to determine the prevalence of severe respiratory tract infection (RTI) in children and identify predictive factors influencing RTI severity, including nutritional status and vaccination status of children, caregivers’ perception of disease severity, caregivers’ infection prevention behaviors, and PM2.5 levels. The sample consisted of 143 caregivers and children aged 2 - 6 years diagnosed with RTIs. Participants were recruited by inclusion and exclusion criteria. Data were collected by questionnaires and were analyzed using descriptive statistics and logistic regression.
Results revealed that the prevalence of severe RTI symptoms among children was 75.50%. Underweight children were more likely to have severe RTI symptoms than those with normal weight (OR = 9.50, 95% CI = 1.147 - 78.734, p < .037). Children whose caregivers perceived a moderate level of RTI severity were 9.23 times more likely to have severe RTI symptoms than those whose caregivers perceived a low level of severity (OR = 9.23, 95% CI = 2.331 - 36.567, p = .002) Children whose caregivers perceived a high level of severity were 13.79 times more likely to have severe RTI symptoms (OR = 13.79, 95% CI = 3.043 - 62.500, p < .001). Children whose caregivers demonstrated low levels of infection prevention behavior were 0.24 times more likely to develop severe RTI symptoms than those with high levels of infection prevention behavior (OR = 0.24, 95% CI = 0.087 - 0.677, p = .007). Neither vaccination status nor PM2.5 exposure showed a statistically significant association with severity. Nurses should promote caregivers’ ability to assess symptom severity, strengthen infection prevention practices and improve children’s nutritional status. The findings suggest that caregiver training should be prioritized focusing on the early identification of severe symptoms and the implementation of effective home-based infection prevention strategies.
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