PARENTS’ ATTITUDE UPON CHILDREN’S DEHYDRATION

Oral rehydration (ORS) is the treatment of choice in the mild and moderated dehydration. Despite recommendations, it is not widely used in the clinics. Several factors thought to affect this practice are the attitude and knowledge of the parents, and the pressure exerted by them on the physicians. This study aims to assess by what is affected parents’ attitude toward their children’s rehydration plan. This is a cross-sectional study and was conducted among 381 parents whose children were hospitalized with acute gastroenteritis at the Regional Hospital of Vlora, Albania during January-September 2015. They were interviewed about their knowledge and attitudes on integrated management of dehydration. During the study period in the pediatric ward 94.7% of children were diagnosed with mild to moderate dehydration, 77.4% of them were subjected to intravenous rehydration, 24.4% of parents said they have put pressure on the doctor to decide on giving IV fluids to their child. In over 90% of cases the parents admitted to have sufficient knowledge about dehydration diagnosis and its treatment. However a high percentage of parents (53%) have done nothing to treat or prevent dehydration at home.There is lack of awareness of parents on the integrated management of dehydration, despite having some information on it. Parents’ pressure on physicians in placing their children in intravenous rehydration treatment was found correlated with child age, previous experiences, parents’ education and socioeconomic status. Parent’s education must be a priority.