Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of Mothers regarding Diarrhoeal Illness in Children under Five Years of Age: A Cross Sectional Study in an Urban Slum of Delhi, India

Diarrhoea is one of the lead killers of children worldwide. This study was done with an aim to determine the knowledge, attitude and practice regarding diarrhoeal illness, its prevention and management in mothers of under- five children. A descriptive cross- sectional study; 125 mothers were randomly selected from an urban slum of Delhi and were interviewed using a structured questionnaire. 96% mothers defined diarrhoea appropriately. Most common perceived causes of diarrhoea were contaminated food and drinking water (80%). Though 83% mothers believed that clean drinking water prevents diarrhoea, yet water treatment was practiced by only 36%. Most mothers believed in (90%) and practiced (88%) hand washing with soap post-defecation to prevent diarrhoea. While only 31% had knowledge on importance of use of latrine, fewer (19%) accepted that safe disposal of stool was very important and just 58% reported practicing it. Less than a third of the mothers recognized critical signs of dehydration. 79% mothers recognized importance of increased fluid requirement and 70% practiced it for management of diarrhoea. Though 76% mothers used ORS, only 26% considered it as the mainstay treatment of diarrhoea. Also, 42% mothers had incomplete knowledge regarding proper preparation of ORS. Though only 22% were aware of the role of breastfeeding in prevention of diarrhoea, a positive attitude towards (74%) and healthier practice (90%) of exclusive breast-feeding was observed. Thus, we conclude that though the community knowledge, attitude and practices on diarrhoeal illness and its prevention is marginally satisfactory, the poor knowledge regarding signs of dehydration and relevance of ORS as primary management component is a matter of concern for child survival.