Knowledge and Attitude of Mothers about Diarrhea, ORS and Feeding Practices in Under-Five Children in a Rural Area of Ranga Reddy, Telangana

Background: Diarrhea is one of the major cause of morbidity and mortality among under five age group children in India.Mothers knowledge about diarrhea and it's management depends on various factors such as educational status, socio-economic factors and feeding practices.The present study was undertaken to assess the knowledge, attitude regarding diarrhea, ORS and feeding practices in mothers of under-five children.Methodology: A Cross-sectional study was conducted in a rural area of Rangareddy district among mothers of under-five children in December 2014.A pre designed pre-tested questionnaire was used for data collection among 210 mothers.Data was entered into MS excel sheet & analyzed by using Epi Info.7.1.3.Version Results: Among the under-fives mothers 73.3% know about ORS, 52.8% knew the correct method of preparing ORS.72.3% of mothers continued breast feeding during diarrheal episode,41.4% mothers do not know the cause of diarrhea, 63.1% think due to mothers dietary habits child can get diarrhea through breast milk.71.9% are giving some home available fluids during diarrhea.Conclusion: The present study shows that though most of the mothers were familiar with the term oral rehydration salt, there is a gap in the knowledge and attitude of the mothers regarding diarrhea and ORS.Their knowledge about correct method and amount of ORS is very poor.There is a need to educate the mothers about causes of diarrhea and correct method of ORS preparation.