Science Journal of Public Health 2015; 3(3): 398-403 Published online May 12, 2015 (http://www.sciencepublishinggroup.com/j/sjph) doi: 10.11648/j.sjph.20150303.25 ISSN: 2328-7942 (Print); ISSN: 2328-7950 (Online) Mothers’ Attitude Towards Childhood Diarrhea Management and Prevention in Under Five Children in Fenote Selam Town, West Gojjam, Amhara, Northwest Ethiopia Desalegne Amare 1, * , Getachew Mullu 2 1 Nursing Department, Medicine and Health Science Collage, Debre Markos University, Debre Markos, Ethiopia 2 Midwifery Department, Medicine and Health Science Collage, Debre Markos University, Debre Markos, Ethiopi Email address desa2001@yahoo.com (D. Amare), gechm2005@gmail.com (G. Mullu) To cite this article: Desalegne Amare, Getachew Mullu. Mothers’ Attitude Towards Childhood Diarrhea Management and Prevention in Under Five Children in Fenote Selam Town, West Gojjam, Amhara, Northwest Ethiopia. Science Journal of Public Health. Vol. 3, No. 3, 2015, pp. 398-403. doi: 10.11648/j.sjph.20150303.25 Abstract: Introduction: Global deaths of children aged less than five years from diarrhea have been estimated, resulting in about 800 000 fatalities worldwide annually, most occurring in sub-Saharan Africa and south Asia. More than 80% of these deaths occur in Asia and Africa (46% in Africa alone). Objective: The aim of this study was to assess attitude of mothers towards diarrhea management and prevention in under five children, in Fenote Selam Town, West Gojjam Zone, Amhara, Northwest Ethiopia, 2014. Methods: Community based Cross-sectional study was conducted from April-May 2014. The sample size was 846. Multi-stage sampling technique was employed to select sampling kebeles. Simple random sampling technique was used to select study units. Pretest was done in none sampling kebeles. Data were entered into Epi-info (version 3.5.1) statistical software package and then exported to SPSS software package version 16.0 for further analysis. Results: A total of 830 mothers were participated in the study. Overall, 416(50.1%) of mothers had favorable attitude. Of these, 337 (40.6%) of mothers had favorable attitude towards ORS usage and 192(23.1%) of mothers had favorable attitude towards immunization to prevent diarrhea. Conclusion: Overall, half of mothers of the Fenote Selam community had unfavorable attitude towards diarrhea management and prevention. Keywords: Attitude, Prevention, ORS, Under Five Children, Mother, Diarrhea, Management 1. Introduction Global deaths of under five children from diarrhea have been estimated 800 000 [1]. More than 80% of these deaths occur in South Asia and Africa (46% in Africa alone) [2]. Although diarrheal mortality remains high, it is decreasing by 4% per year [1], and incidence is declining more modestly [3]. To guide these effort, robust data characterize the burden, risk factors, microbiological a etiology, squeal and case fatality of most life-threatening and disabling episodes are essential; heretofore, such data have been scarce in regions with the highest child mortality[4]. In Sub-Saharan Africa primary caregivers display poor perception about the signs of dehydration, dysentery and management of diarrhea [5]. The attitude of parents and caretakers towards the disease management vary with their perception about its seriousness especially on young children and health care-seeking practices of the primary caretakers of children < 5 years of age [6]. Data from EDHS showed that an increase in mothers’ health seeking behavior for children with diarrhea over the past decade; it was 13 % in 2000 to 22 % in 2005 and 32 % in 2011. However, almost one child in every two (49 %) were offered less fluid than usual or were given no fluids at all; 28% were offered somewhat less, 13% were offered much less, and 7% of children were offered no fluids at all. Only 10% of children with diarrhea were given increased liquids and continued feeding as recommended, while 25 % of children with diarrhea continued to be fed and given ORT[7]. The purpose of this study was to assess attitude of mothers towards diarrhea management and prevalence in under five children, in Fenote Selam Town, West Gojjam Zone, Amhara,