A STUDY TO ASSESS THE RELATION BETWEEN PREVALENCE OF DIARRHEA AMONG UNDERFIVE CHILDREN AND KNOWLEDGE ON FEEDING PRACTICES OF THEIR MOTHERS, IN A SELECTED RURAL AREA, KOLAR DISTRICT, KARNATAKA, INDIA

Nearly half percentages of children of below 5years of the age are hospitalized for diarrhea. Parental carelessness and especially lack of hygienic practices followed during the feeding are the factors which increases the prevalence of diarrhea. This was a prospective descriptive survey done in rural areas of south Karnataka, on 60 mothers of under five children. The main objective of the study was to assess the Prevalence of diarrhea, among under five children and to assess the Feeding practices of mothers of under five children. A semi structured questionnaire was used to find out the prevalence of diarrhea and knowledge on feeding practices of mothers of under five children. Descriptive and inferential statistical methods were used to analyze the data. Findings revealed that the prevalence of diarrhea per child in a year was 2 episodes. Majority (57.66%) of mothers of under five children had inadequate knowledge on feeding practices and 48.3 % have moderate knowledge on feeding practices. There was significant correlation between prevalence of diarrhea and feeding practices of mothers of under five children. Conclusion: The study emphasizes on raising the knowledge level of mothers to adopt hygienic feeding practices as preventive measures to prevent diarrhea.