Knowledge and attitude on home-based management of diarrheal disease among mothers/caregivers of under-five children at a tertiary hospital in Ethiopia.

Introduction: diarrhea is the passage of three or more loose or liquid stools per day or more frequent than normal for the individual. Nearly half of deaths from diarrhea among young children occur in Africa where diarrhea is the largest reason for death among children under 5 years old. Home-based management of diarrhea plays its role in the treatment of a child with diarrhea. Hence, this study aims to assess knowledge and attitude on home-based management of diarrheal disease among mothers/caregivers of under-five children at a tertiary hospital in Ethiopia.

Methods: an institutional-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 238 mothers/caregivers from October 21-November 21, 2021. Data was collected by using structured questionnaires containing 24 knowledge and attitude items then entered and analyzed using SPSS version 21. Bivariate and multivariable analyses were carried out to identify factors associated with the knowledge and attitude of mothers/caregivers towards home-based management of diarrhea using binary logistic regression. Statistical significance was set at p-value < 0.05.

Results: the study revealed 36.6% of respondents had good knowledge and 55.5%of respondents had a favorable attitude towards home-based management of diarrhea. Being illiterate (Adjusted Odds Ratio (AOR)(95% confidence interval (CI) 0.123(0.027-0.554)) was significantly associated with the knowledge of mothers. Whereas being the mother (AOR(95%CI)3.085(1.071-8.890)) and having a monthly income < 2000birr (AOR(95%CI) 0.248(0.069-0.892)) had a significant association with the attitude of mothers/caregivers towards home-based management of diarrhea.

Conclusion: unacceptable number of mothers/caregivers had poor knowledge regarding home-based management of diarrhea. Similarly, a high number of the respondents had a favorable attitude toward home-based management of diarrhea. Improving the educational status of mothers/caregivers by the educational sector and raising monthly income play a role in raising the knowledge and improving the attitude of mothers towards home-based management of diarrhea.