Assessment of knowledge of mothers from migrant population regarding use of oral rehydration solution in diarrheal illness in under-five children from rural Pune

Background: Diarrhea is one of the important causes of morbidity and mortality among under-five children in India. Lack of knowledge of mothers about the management of diarrheal diseases is a common problem in many developing countries. Use of oral rehydration solution (ORS) largely depends, on the level of mother’s knowledge. Objective: The objective of the study was to assess the knowledge of the mothers, from rural migrant population regarding the use of ORS in under-five children with diarrhea. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out from December 2016 to March 2017, among mothers of the migrant population residing and working at brick kilns and construction site in the field practice area of the rural health training center, Lavale, Pune. We included the mothers whose children were under five years of age. Those mothers, who had serious illness and had hearing and speech problems, were excluded from the study. Data were collected by interview method from mothers with the help of a pre-structured and pre-tested questionnaire. Results: A total of 54 (93.1%) mothers from brick kiln sites were included among whom, 43.10% were aware of ORS. Only 37.93% of mothers knew the use of homemade sugar salt solution for diarrhea in children. In this study, 25 (43.10%) mothers were illiterate and the study showed that knowledge regarding ORS was lower in illiterate mothers. Conclusion: Majority of the mothers were not aware regarding ORS, and as per the study, knowledge regarding ORS was lower in less educated mothers. Government schemes would help these mothers to increase the awareness which will result in a decrease in mortality rate