DETERMINANTS OF DIARRHEAL DISEASE AMONG CHILDREN BELOW FIVE YEARS ATTENDING THE PEADIATRIC WARD AT MASAKA REGIONAL REFERRAL HOSPITAL, MASAKA DISTRICT. A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY.
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.71020/jwhr.v2i3.32Keywords:
Determinants of diarrheal disease, Paediatric ward, children below five years, Masaka Reginal Referral HospitalAbstract
Diarrhea is the passage of 3 or more loose or liquid stools per day. In Uganda, it is among the five leading causes of mortality, contributing to more than 140,000 deaths every year, accounting for 7.1% of all under-five mortalities. The purpose of the study was to ascertain the determinants of diarrhea among children below five years attending the pediatric ward at Masaka Regional Referral Hospital, Masaka district.
Methodology
A descriptive cross-sectional design employing quantitative data collection methods with a simple random sampling technique was adopted. A pretested researcher-administered questionnaire with predetermined responses was used to collect data among 40 caregivers of under-five-year-old children with diarrhea at Masaka RRH.
Results:
17(42.5%) of the participants were between the age of 15-24 years, 17(42.5%) had stopped in the primary level of formal education, and parents who had a history of diarrhea contributed 90% to the diarrhea cases among children below five years, failure to exclusively breastfeed children for the first six months of life contributed 68% and lack of a hand washing equipment with soap and water near the toilet facility contributed 70%, 29(72.5%) weaned their children using feeding bottles, and 26(65%) had a primary source of water as piped water
Conclusion
Caretakers with a history of diarrhea, non-exclusive breastfeeding, and poor hygiene were the determinants of diarrhea among children below five years.
Recommendations
Parents should keep proper hygiene, exclusively breastfeed their babies for the first six months, and ensure that all their children are completely immunized.
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