Maternal perceptions of lead poisoning in children with normal and elevated lead levels.
BACKGROUND
The purpose of this study was to examine mothers' perceptions of the severity and susceptibility of their children to lead poisoning and to determine if a correlation existed between mothers' knowledge of lead poisoning and their children's blood lead levels. It was thought that mothers of children with lead poisoning (lead levels > or = 10 micrograms/dL) would score lower on a test of their perceptions and knowledge of lead poisoning than would mothers of children with normal lead levels (lead levels < or = 9 micrograms/dL).


METHODS
A cross-sectional study comparing scores of a questionnaire completed by mothers whose children had elevated blood lead levels and mothers whose children had normal blood lead levels was conducted.


RESULTS
No difference was found in the median test score between the 2 groups. For the correct responses on a question-by-question comparison, significant difference existed between groups; however, the percentage of correct responses was not always greater for the mothers of children with normal blood lead levels.


CONCLUSIONS
Mothers' perceptions and knowledge of lead poisoning were not associated with their children's blood lead levels.
Anderson
R L
RL
Department of Pediatrics, MetroHealth Medical Center, Cleveland, Ohio 44109-1998, USA.
Whitwell
J K
JK
Snyder
S A
SA
Besunder
J B
JB
D000328:Adult; D001294:Attitude to Health; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004521:Educational Measurement; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007854:Lead / Q000097:blood*; D007855:Lead Poisoning / Q000097:blood* / Q000145:classification / Q000209:etiology*; D009035:Mothers / Q000193:education* / Q000523:psychology*; D009820:Ohio; D010371:Pediatric Nursing; D012307:Risk Factors; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
D007854:Lead