Mothers’ knowledge practices in home management of childhood diarrhea in kano state : a cross sectional study

Abstract

Diarrhea and other diarrheal diseases such as cholera, pose great health problems and continue to be a major cause of child morbidity and mortality among children under 5 in Nigeria. This study aims to assess the knowledge and practice of women receiving non- formal education on prevention and management of childhood diarrhea in their homes. Using a structured questionnaire, a survey was carried out among 109 women studying in adult and non-formal education schools in Kano state. Respondent’s demographic information was collected alongside health knowledge and home practices subsequently tabulated using percentages and mean scores. The correlation between health knowledge and home practices was also calculated to determine association. The study reveals that the majority of the 109 women interviewed had high knowledge of both Diarrhea and ORS (Mean: General Knowledge – 1.08, In-depth Knowledge – 1.47). The bivariate analysis indicates a significant moderate positive association between knowledge of Diarrhea/ORS and home preventive practices (r = .590, (p = 0.00) further supported by the results of the linear regression indicates that knowledge accounts for a significant predictor of women’s Diarrhea/ORS home practices R2 =.342 F=57.106, (p < .05). In accordance with the result, important aspects of both diarrhea and ORS need to be addressed explicitly and with rigour in the health education curriculum since the majority of the students are married with children.