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Caregivers knowledge, home treatment of diarrhoea disease and predictors of child diarrhoea disease in a semi urban community of Sokoto, North-west, Nigeria.

Abstract

The World Health Organization advocates on some form of home treatment of children with diarrhoea disease in its Integrated Management of Childhood illness (IMCI) guideline. Caregiver need to some knowledge of diarrhoea disease as well as know what is expected of them when their children start to have episodes of diarrhoea disease.
This study aimed to assess caregivers’ knowledge, home treatment of diarrhoea disease and predictors of child diarrhoea disease in a semi urban community of Sokoto, North-west, Nigeria. This was a community based cross-sectional study, 238 study participants with children less than or equal to 5 years were recruited into the study using Systematic sampling technique.
Data was obtained using an interviewer-administered questionnaire. Data obtained was entered into and analysed using IBM SPSS version 22. Results were presented in form of tables. All statistical tests were carried out using 2 tailed testswith alpha set at 0.05. Most (90%) of the caregivers had good knowledge of diarrhoea disease. More than half of them (60.5%) gave their children drugs meant to stop diarrhoea and few of them give traditional medication to children with diarrhoea disease (23.3%). Caregiversknowledge of diarrhoea disease was significantly associated with her marital status, hers and her husband’s educational status, occupational status of husband. Mother’s marital status (being married) was the main predictor of child having diarrhoea disease. In conclusion majority of the caregivers had good knowledge of diarrhoea disease; some of them reported in-appropriate practices. Marital status (being single) was the main predictor of having diarrhoea disease among the children. Continuous education of mothers by health workers at every opportunity mothers come in contact with health care providers would go a long way in reducing in-appropriate practices as well as diarrhoea episodes among children.

More information

Type
Journal Article
Author
Raji M
Abdullahi U
Raji I
Oladigbolu R
Kaoje A
Awosan K