Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice of Mothers of Under-Five Children Regarding Diarrheal Illness: A Cross Sectional Study; Hyderabad

Introduction: Globally, there are nearly 1.7 billion cases of diarrheal disease and 760,000 deaths in children under 5 every year. In India, diarrhea accounts for nearly 212,000 under five deaths annually. On an average, children below3 years of age in India, experience about 3–5 episodes of diarrhea every year. Materials and methods: The Present study was a hospital-based cross-sectional study conducted at Niloufer Hospital attached to Osmania Medical College, Hyderabad, Telangana. Study period was 6 months (July 2019-December 2019). Mothers of children below the age of 5 years who were admitted inpatient department of Paediatrics at Niloufer Hospital were included. Results: In this study, out of 100 mothers, 43% of mothers were in the age group of 21–25 years and 32% of them were in the age group of 26–30 years. All of them were literates. Majority of mothers (37%) belonged to Class III socioeconomic status and 30% belonged to Class IV socioeconomic status. Mothers who belonged to more than 25 years of age group were 52%, 54% of mothers who had college education, and 58% of mothers who belonged to higher socioeconomic status had good knowledge. Mothers who had serious attitude toward diarrheal illness were 82%. Mothers who had serious attitude toward Management measures diarrheal illness were 52%. Conclusion: Mothers education in particular health education should be used as an effective tool to promote knowledge and good practice regarding diarrheal illness in children under 5 years of age