PRACTICES OF HOME MANAGEMENT OF CHILDHOOD DIARRHEA AMONG PARENTS OF UNDER-5 CHILDREN WITH DIARRHOEAL DISEASE IN RURAL AREAS OF HIMALAYAS

Dr. Vijay Verma, Dr. Ravi Verma and Dr. Supriya*

ABSTRACT

Background: Acute gastroenteritis is the second most important cause of morbidity and mortality in developing countries. Home-based management of diarrhea is a globally recommended approach to decrease this trend and avert preventable deaths among under-five children. Objectives: To explore the practice of home management of diarrhoea among parents of under-five children. Methods: Parents of children under 5 years of age who presented to Civil Hospital, Kandaghat and not taking treatment from any other hospital, were interviewed on the basis of a predesigned proforma. Results: Parents of 224 children who met the inclusion criteria, were interviewed. ORT accessibility was found to be 60.2% in children with diarrhea. Teething contributed to 45% of the perceived etiology of diarrhea. Conclusion: In our study, we found out that management of diarrhea (acute gastroenteritis) at home was grossly inadequate. Their awareness of ORS was high. However, the actual practice of home management of diarrhoea was relatively low. We also found discrepancies in the method of preparation and administration of ORT.

Keywords: Diarrhoea, home management, knowledge, ORS, Oral rehydration therapy(ORT).