Background: Parasitic worms (helminths), are serious threat to life. A good knowledge of worm infection among the mothers of child bearing age could help to improve the situation. This study was aimed to obtain the knowledge and practice of mothers towards helminthic infection to their children.
Method: This was a cross-section study was conducted in Nyamagana district from 22nd June 2020 to 7th July 2020. Data collection was done by using semi-structured questionnaire. The study population were mothers with children aged below 13 years gathered from their respective households. The sample size was 384 mothers. Data analysis was done using IBM SPSS version software.
Results and Discussion: Majority of the mothers were in the age group of 31-45 years followed by 18-30 years and lastly those above 45 years. Among the 31-45 years age group mothers, knowledge score was relatively good with an average practice score. (60.4%) of mothers used albendazole in treatment of worm infection while few others used herbal medicines as 32.8% of mothers regarded herbal medicines as safe as it has been observed on the use of herbal medicines for COVID-19 prevention.
Conclusion and Recommendation: The study has shown a need for more awareness of worm infection and has revealed the self-medication practices done against worm infection to about 32.8%. There is a need for such study to be conducted in large scale to determine the extent of such practices and prevent anthelminthic resistance to occur. Further studies should be done on the effectiveness of the use of herbal medicines in treatment of helminthic infection.