PRACTICE OF HOME MANAGEMENT OF DIARRHEA AMONG CAREGIVERS OF CHILDREN BELOW FIVE YEARS IN NGANDU LOCATION IN NYERI COUNTY

Background: To prevent dehydration and malnutrition in children with diarrhea, it is important they get good management at home. The caregivers should commence home remedies immediately before they seek medical advice. Objective: This study determine the practice of home management of diarrhea among caregivers of children below five years. Methods: This research applied descriptive cross sectional study design. The current study was a household survey targeting caregivers of children below five years with diarrhea. The Cochrans Sample Size Formula was used to calculate a sample size of 345 respondents. Purposive sampling was used to recruit respondents in the study. The study employed a researcher- administered semi-structured questionnaire. Descriptive statistics and chi-square tests were used in the analysis. Results: The study found that majority 67.1% (n=231) of the respondents had poor practices in regards to home management of diarrhoea. Only 25.8% (n=89) of the respondents indicated that they boiled water while only 15.7% (n=54) indicated they washed hands the researcher observed that slightly above half 57.4% (n=198) did not breastfeed their child during diarrhoea. The vast majority 78.7% (n=199) indicated that they did not prepare the ORS themselves. ORS was prepared incorrectly in 67.1% (n=231) of the respondents. Conclusion: There was poor practice of home management of diarrhea among caregivers of children below five years with diarrhea. The study recommends enhanced education of mothers on home management of diarrhea by community health workers.