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Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice of Home Managment of Childhood Diarrhoea amoung Caregivers of Under-5 Children with Diarrhoeal Disease in Northwestern Nigeria

Diarrhoeal diseases (DDs) constitute a public health problem. This is a cross-sectional study done of home caregivers with children aged 1-59 months with diarrhoea. Subjects were randomly selected at community primary health centres in northwestern Nigeria. The outcomes measured were knowledge, attitude, and practices regaring home managment of diarrhea. The resulst show that less than 1% of caregivers were knowledgeable about home management of DD. Antibiotics and anti-diarrhoeal agents use was common at 36%. ORS use was abysmally low at 8.6%. Only 32% of caregivers were aware of the use of zinc in the management of DD. Adherence to 10-day zinc supplementation was encouraging at 75.5%. The study concluded that there is an urgent need to scale up educational and promotional activities with regards to the home management of DD if the millennium development goals are to be met.