A descriptive study to assess the knowledge regarding prevention of diarrhea among the mothers of under five children in selected villages of district Jammu

Abstract

Introduction: Diarrhea is a leading cause of illness in children, younger than 5 years of age which leads to dehydration. Diarrheal disease in infancy still constitutes of the chief problem in Paediatric practice. In the Indian scenario, India contributes 2.4 million child deaths to the global burden that is the highest for any nation in the world. Nearly 26 million children are born every year of which 1.2 million are neonatal deaths and 1.7 million are infant deaths. Aim: The main aim of the study is to assess the knowledge regarding prevention of diarrhea among mothers of under five children.Methodology: A quantitative descriptive research design was used to assess the knowledge of 60 mothers of children of under five years residing in selected villages of Jammu. A self-structure questionnaire tool was used to assess the knowledge. Results: The results of the study revealed that mothers an had average level of knowledge regarding the in prevention of diarrhea. Thus, the first assumption that “mothers may have adequate knowledge regarding prevention of diarrhea” is approved. There was no significant association of level of knowledge with the socio-demographic variables i.e. age, education, occupation, monthly income, source of informed motion, or type of sanitation.Conclusion: Hence, it is concluded that the majority of mothers of children under-years fan year having an average level of knowledge regarding the prevention of diarrhea.