| dc.description.abstract | The process of watching/picking a child’s interests, curiosities, and cues, to nd out
what they mean and promptly responding to them sensitively is known as responsive
care. The aim of this study was to investigate the knowledge, attitudes, and practices
about responsive care in early childhood among Public Health Midwives (PHMs) in
Kandy District, Sri Lanka. A descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted among
213 PHMs in the Kandy District. Data were collected using a validated, pre-tested selfadministered
questionnaire. Data analysis was done by using SPSS Version 26. The
data were interpreted by calculating the frequencies and Chi-square tests. Computed
knowledge scores were graded into “Good (26-29)”, “Average (25-26) ”, and “Poor” (20-
25)”. Attitudes scores were graded into “Positive (64-80)”, “Neutral (61-64)”, and “Negative
(34-61)”. Practice scores were graded into “Good (45-50)”, “Average (41-45)” and “Poor (25-
41)”. Among the total participants (n=213), 25.8% of them had good knowledge, 33.8% of
participants had positive attitudes, and 31.9% of participants had good practices toward
responsive care. There was a signi cant association between the level of education with
the knowledge score (p<0.01). The chi-square test exhibited there was no association
between socio-demographic data with attitudes (p>0.01) and practices (p>0.01) related to
responsive care in early childhood. According to this study, the knowledge, attitudes,
and practices about responsive care in early childhood among PHMs in Kandy District
need improvement. However, repeating the self-reported assessment after an interval
and evaluating actual practices by observations or by parents’ reports would be essential
steps in future research. Further validation of the knowledge, attitudes, and practices tool
developed for this study could be done by conducting qualitative studies and triangulation
of results. | en_US |
