Caregivers' knowledge, attitude and practices towards management of diarrhoea among children below 5 years in Luwero district
Abstract
Diarrhea is the second leading cause of morbidity and mortality among children under five
following acute respiratory infection and is also an important cause of malnutrition. Diarrheal
diseases can be caused by numerous pathogens and transmitted through multiple vehicles due to
poor hygiene practices. Persons living in developing countries with poor access to safe water,
sanitation or hygiene infrastructure have increased risk of exposure to viral, bacterial and
parasitic pathogens that can cause diarrheal diseases. The study aimed to assess the knowledge,
attitude and practices towards prevention and management of malnutrition due to diarrhea in
children 0 to 59 months in Kibisi village, Luwero district. The study focused on the prevention
and management of diarrhea as a measure for malnutrition. The study was a cross sectional study
design by knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) questionnaire involving 200 mothers
/caregivers. Data was collected by employing pre-tested interviewer administered knowledge,
attitude and practice questionnaire. Interviews were done with randomly selected mothers
/caregivers. Important findings of this study included the following; health centers were the main
source of information about diarrheal management and prevention, more than half of respondents
(78%) believed that diarrhea is caused by teething, only 57.5% respondents knew the right
dilution of 1 sachet of ORS in 1 liter of safe water and only 36 % of the caregivers sought for
medical attention whenever their children had diarrhea. The study recommends more funding to
be provided to health centers to improve patient education and counselling programs through
purchasing of materials needed, employing more health workers and facilitating outreaches. The
study further recommends that more research should be conducted to discover the barriers faced
by caregivers in the management and prevention of diarrhea as caregivers were knowledgeable
and had good attitudes towards use of Oral Rehydration Solution but its use was still poor