A Study of Knowledge, Attitude, and Practices of Using ORS and Zinc among Mothers of Acute Watery Diarrhea Patients in Pediatric Outpatients Department of 250 Bed General Hospital, Jamalpur

Abstract

Introduction: Diarrhea is a loose-waterly stool and is the second leading cause of death among children under five years. Oral rehydration solution and Zinc supplementation are cost-effective, easy to get, and are used to prevent dehydration among acute watery diarrhea (AWD) patients. The aim of the study was to investigate the Knowledge, Attitude, and Practices of Using ORS and Zinc among Mothers of Acute Watery Diarrhea Patients in the Paediatric Outpatients Department of 250 Bed General Hospital, Jamalpur. Methods: This prospective cross-sectional study was conducted in the Paediatric Outpatients Department of 250 Bed General Hospital, Jamalpur from 01-01-2021 to 30-06- 2021 on 188 mothers (N=188) who brought their babies suffering from AWD. Questions were based on knowledge about diarrhea, ORS use, and Zinc supplementation. The data analysis was performed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) Version 25.0 and the level of statistical significance was set at p<0.05. Result: All the mothers were mainly between the ages of twenty-five to thirty-four years. The majority of mothers belonged to the lower socio- economic class. Around four-fifths of the mothers (148, 78.7%) strongly knew about preparing ORS and most of the mothers (83, 44.1%) used ORS every time. Around two-fifths of the mothers (75, 39.9%) strongly believed that ORS can prevent dehydration &twenty-four mothers (24, 12.8%) strongly agreed that Zinc supplementation help in the treatment of diarrhea. The majority of the mothers (119, 67.2%) did not wash their hands every time while preparing ORS during AWD. Conclusion: This study reveals that there is still a lack of knowledge regarding the management of diarrheal disease among mothers. Approaches should be necessary to implement the acceleration of Govt. programs and to educate mothers about the importance of using ORS and Zinc supplementation.