Prevalance And Risk Factors Associated With Diarrhoeal Disease In Peadiatric Patients At Masindi Hospital

ABSTRACT.

Introduction

Diarrhea is the most important public health problem connected to water and sanitation and can be both “waterborne” and “water-washed”. In recent decades, a consensus developed that the key

factors for the prevention of diarrhea are sanitation, personal hygiene, availability of water and good quality drinking water; and that the quantity of water that people have available for hygiene is of equal or greater importance for the prevention of diarrhea as the bacteriological water quality(Jensen PK, 2004)

Methodology:

A cross sectional was conducted among mothers attending the OPD services at Masindi general hospital to determine the prevalence of diarrhoea within the last two weeks among mothers with

children under five. The study used self-administered questionnaires and the response rate of 97.4 %( 74) and default of 2(2.6 %%) was recorded as the mothers did not return the completed questionnaires.

Results:

The results from this study showed that the prevalence of diarrhoea was 22.37%; the mothers

whose children had diarrhoea were mostly between the age groups of 37 and above, unemployed

married or staying together and those who stopped at primary levels of education. Most of the

children who had brothers or sisters at home developed the diarrhoea 17(out of 29) and most of

them had no latrine at home, the most common treatment options for children were deworming

10(33.33%), and ORS 9(30.00%)

Conclusion: the study concluded that diarrhoea prevalence was high among the children under

five within Masindi district. With most of the risk factors being low level of maternal education, married and high numbers of children the absence of a pit latrine at home.

Recommendation

The community health department should survey and determine the families without pit latrines

and encourage them to build pit latrines at their homes, the health facilities should conducted maternal education to reduce the usage of Antibiotics and traditional herbs in the treatment of

childhood diarrhoea among mothers in children under five in Masindi. And community leaders should identify families with high risk of diarrhoea and refer them to VHTs for health education and follow up.