Effect of a structured teaching programme on mothers' knowledge and utilisation of oral rehydration solution.

Background:  Childhood diarrhoea is a major health problem in developing countries.

Aim:  The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of a structured teaching programme on mothers' knowledge and use of oral rehydration solution in the treatment of diarrhoea in children under 5 years of age.

Setting:  The study was conducted at Life-changing Eudaimonia Hospital, Jos, Nigeria.

Methods:  A quasi-experimental research design was used, based on a pre- and post-test with one group. Seventy mothers of children under 5 years of age suffering from diarrhoea were recruited as subjects. However, two withdrew, resulting in a response rate of 97.1%. Data were collected by administering a pretest to the respondents and a post-test after a 3-h structured teaching programme on the preparation and utilisation of oral rehydration solution in the treatment of diarrhoea.

Results:  The t-test analysis revealed that the mean knowledge and utilisation of oral rehydration solution in the treatment of diarrhoea significantly increased, with paired t-values of 3.528 (p = 0.001) and 20.382 (p  0.001) respectively.

Conclusion:  We concluded that the structured teaching programme significantly improved mothers' knowledge and utilisation of oral rehydration solution in the management of diarrhoea in children under 5 years of age at Life-changing Eudaimonia Hospital, Jos.Contribution: Based on the findings of this study, we suggest that policy makers should develop programmes that support education campaigns on oral rehydration therapy among family caregivers, especially in rural areas with poor access to health care.