Mothers Knowledge, Attitude and Practice Regarding Diarrhea and its Management in Aden-Yemen: A Cross-Sectional Study in Poor Resource Setting

Background: Diarrheal diseases are still a major cause of mortality and morbidity after respiratory infection in most developing countries. There are about 1.7 billion cases of diarrheal illness and 760,000 deaths in children under 5 every year around the world. Moreover, it has an undesirable effect on the development and growth of infants and young children.

Aim: The main objective of this study was to evaluate the mothers’ knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) regarding diarrhea and its management in Aden-Yemen.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among mothers who visited Aden health centers in Aden city from April 2020 to July 2020. The respondents were chosen conveniently due to the difficulty of having a sampling frame. Data was collected using a KAP questionnaire.

Results: A total of 414 mothers aged 18 - 40 years had a child/children with diarrhea at the time of enrollment or in the preceding 3 to 6 months from enrollment. About 344 (83.1%) of mothers knew the definition of diarrhea, 244 (58.9 %) of mothers attributed the teething as a cause of diarrhea, and 284 (68.6%) of mothers recognized lethargy as a sign of dehydration. Nearly 201 (48.6 %) of the mothers mentioned that diarrhea could be managed and prevented at home, and 174 (42.0%) agreed that ORS is the first-line treatment for diarrhea, and 286 (69.1%) of mothers continue exclusive breastfeeding during diarrhea. However, only 170 (41.1%) of mothers prepared ORS at home, and most of them did not know the correct way of preparing it. About 327 (79.0%) of mothers consulted the medical centers during the episode, and 199 (48.1 %) of mothers took the child to the primary health center as an immediate response.

Conclusion: The findings revealed that the KAP of the mothers was unsatisfactory for the management of diarrheal diseases. Therefore, there must be educational intervention provided by health sectors to increase awareness. Furthermore, the government should provide quality water, sanitation, essential medicines, public education, etc., to reduce the causes of the prevalence of diarrhea.