Open Access Journal │www.njcmindia.org pISSN 0976 3325│eISSN 2229 6816 National Journal of Community Medicine│Volume 5│Issue 1│Jan – Mar 2014 Page 100 Original Article KNOWLEDGE AND PRACTICE REGARDING ORAL REHYDRATION THERAPY FOR ACUTE DIARRHOEA AMONG MOTHERS OF UNDER-FIVE CHILDREN IN AN URBAN AREA OF PUDUCHERRY, INDIA Suman Saurabh 1 , Umakant G Shidam 1 , Manjula Sinnakirouchenan 2 , Mohsina Subair 2 , Loo Guo Hou 2 , Gautam Roy 3 Financial Support: None declared Conflict of interest: None declared Copy right: The Journal retains the copyrights of this article. However, re- production of this article in the part or total in any form is permissible with due acknowledgement of the source. How to cite this article: Saurabh S, Shidam UG, Sinnakirouche- nan M, Subair M, Hou LG, Roy G. Knowledge and Practice Regarding Oral Rehydration Therapy for Acute Diar- rhoea among Mothers of Under-Five Children in an Urban Area of Puducherry, India. Natl J Community Med 2014; 5(1): 100-104. Author’s Affiliation: 1 Junior Resident; 2 Medical Graduate; 3 Professor and Head, Department of Preventive and Social Medicine, JIPMER, Puducherry, India Correspondence: Dr. Suman Saurabh, Email: suman@jipmer.net Date of Submission: 04-01-14 Date of Acceptance: 25-01-14 Date of Publication: 31-3-14 ABSTRACT Background: Diarrhoea is a major cause of morbidity and mortality among under-five children. Correct knowledge regarding Oral Rehydra- tion Therapy (ORT) helps prevent morbidity and mortality due to diar- rhoea. Our objective was to assess the awareness, knowledge and prac- tice of mothers of under-five children regarding ORT and home man- agement of diarrhoea. Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out during September 2012. A structured and pre-tested questionnaire was administered to all the mothers of under-five children in the study area. Results: A total of 252 children and 245 mothers were covered. Around two-thirds of mothers knew about at least one method of diarrhoea pre- vention. Three-fourths of mothers had heard of Oral Rehydration Solu- tion (ORS) and knew how to prepare and administer ORS. Also, majority of mothers (82.9%) were aware about home available fluids for rehydra- tion. Around half of the mothers who knew about ORS thought that ORS had to be discontinued if diarrhoea persisted or vomiting developed. Mothers educated only till class eight were almost twice less likely to know about ORS preparation as compared to better educated mothers (OR = 2.15, 95% CI 1.14 – 4.05, P = 0.02). No association was found be- tween lack of knowledge regarding home available fluids with younger age, low education of mothers or low per capita income. Conclusion: Although awareness regarding ORS and home available flu- ids was adequate, knowledge regarding its continuation in persistent di- arrhoea or vomiting was poor. Lack of education predisposed to igno- rance regarding ORS preparation. Key words: diarrhoea, under-five, Oral rehydration, ORS, home avail- able fluids, knowledge INTRODUCTION Diarrhoea is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality among under-five children. Globally, acute diarrhoea claims around 1.5 million lives of un- der-five children. 1 Moreover, in the South-East Asian region diarrhoea has been estimated to account for 31.3% of under-five mortality. 2 The problem of diar- rhoea can be tackled at both primary and secondary prevention levels. The former comprises improvement of sanitation and water quality. The latter consists of early recognition of dehydration due to diarrhoea and prompt oral rehydration by either using ORS or ap- propriate home available fluids. ORS has been proven to be effective in preventing diarrhoea mortality in the community while varying degree of evidence favours the use of home available fluids. 3 Oral rehydration has not yet achieved its full potential of preventing diarrhoea deaths due to many factors. Poor socio-economic status and lack of knowledge among caregivers mean that oral rehydration is not always applied when needed. 4 Often the caregivers are late in recognising diarrhoea as a cause of con- cern. 5 Furthermore, diarrhoea treatment practices are not based on evidence as shown by widespread pre- scription of unnecessary drugs. 5 The objective of our study was to assess the aware- ness, knowledge and practice of mothers of under-five children regarding home management of diarrhoea,