Effect of Instructional Guidelines on Dietary Knowledge and Practices among Mothers of Children with Kidney Stones

Background : kidney stones in children has been recognized as a major source of morbidity and are considered a significant health problem. Changing eating habits as an increase in the number of sodium children eat through processed foods and table salt. The rise with obesity and less active lifestyles may also cause more children to have kidney stones. Aim: The study aimed to determine the effect of instructional guidelines on dietary knowledge and practices among mothers of children with kidney stones. Design : A quasi-experimental research design was used in the current study. Setting : The research was carried out in Pediatric Urology Department and Urology Outpatient Clinic at Sohag University Hospital. Sample : Non-probability purposive sampling technique was used to select a sample of 50 mothers with their children having kidney stones who were randomly assigned into two groups, 25 for each of the study and control groups. Tools : Tool (I): Mothers' interview questionnaire, It was composed of five parts: Part (1): Mothers' data, Part (2): Children's data, Part (3): Children's medical history, Part (4): Mothers' knowledge assessment questionnaire regarding kidney stones, and Part (5): Mothers' practices assessment scale regarding kidney stones and Tool (II) perceived dietary adherence questionnaire and Tool (III) barriers towards consuming a healthy diet questionnaire. Results : According to the study, 68% of children in the study group adhered to the recommended diet compared to 28% in the control group post-instructional guidelines implementation, while (72%) of them in the control group did not compare to 32% in the study group with a highly statistically significant difference at (p≤ 0.001). more than half of children in the study and control groups (60%, & 57%) respectively had high barriers to consuming a healthy diet pre-instructional guidelines implementation with no statistically significant difference p> 0.05. while, after instructional guidelines implementation the high barriers decreased to (28%) in the study group than in the control group. There was a significant correlation between the total knowledge and practices of the studied mothers' pre and post-instructional guidelines implementation (<p 0.001). Conclusion : According to the findings of the study, instructional guidelines have a positive effect on improving the dietary knowledge and practice of mothers who have children with kidney stones. Recommendations : The study recommends that mothers continue to receive instructional guidelines to improve their knowledge and reported practices.