KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDE, AND PRACTICE TOWARDS HOME-BASED MANAGEMENT AND PREVENTION OF UNDER-FIVE DIARRHEAL DISEASE AMONG CAREGIVERS OF CHILDREN AT HIWOT FANA COMPREHENSIVE SPECIALIZED HOSPITAL, HARAR, EASTERN ETHIOPIA

Abstract

Background: Diarrheal disease is the second-leading cause of under-five mortality globally, particularly in low- and middle-income counties. In Ethiopia, diarrheal diseases are one of the leading causes of under-five mortality, contributing to more than one in every ten child deaths. To prevent the mortality resulted from under-five diarrhea, there are simple and cost-effective home-based management and preventive intervention strategies that mainly require maternal involvement. Few studies are conducted in Ethiopia on home-based management and the prevention of diarrhea among children under-five years. Objective: To assess knowledge, attitude, and practice towards home-based management and prevention of under-five diarrheal disease among caregivers of children at Hiwot Fana Comprehensive Specialized Hospital, Harar, Eastern Ethiopia, from January 15 to February 15, 2024. Method: A hospital-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 418 mothers who have under-five children with diarrhea and are visiting the pediatric out-patient department at Hiwot Fana Comprehensive Specialized Hospital, Harar, Eastern Ethiopia. The study participants were selected using the consecutive sampling method. Data were collected through face-to face interviews with caretakers using structured questionnaires. Data were entered into EPI data v3.1 and exported to SPSS v21 for data processing and analysis. Descriptive statistical analysis was used to compute frequency, percentages, and mean of the findings of this study. The results were presented using tables, charts, and graphs. Results: This study found that 59.3% of the mothers had good knowledge, 68.7% of mothers had a positive attitude, and only 22.4% of mothers had good practice towards the home-based management and preventions of under-five diarrheal disease. Only 16.3% of the mothers had given self-prescribed ORS to their children at home, while 7.9% of them gave Zinc tablets. Conclusion: Maternal knowledge on the importance of ORS and Zinc tablets, as well as their practices on giving ORS and Zinc for under-five children with diarrhea were lower than most of recent studies. Hence, the implementation of health education has paramount importance to improve the maternal knowledge, attitude and practice towards the home-based management and prevention of under-five diarrheal diseases.