Use of Zinc and Oral Rehydration Solution in Home Management of Diarrhea: Knowledge of Mothers of attending a Tertiary Care Hospital

Background: Diarrhea is the second leading cause of mortality in children below 5 years of age in Pakistan. Use of Zinc and ORS has been proven in clinical trials to be beneficial in reducing morbidity and mortality. Poor knowledge regarding home management of diarrhea leads to mortality due to severe dehydration. The objective of this study was to assess the level of knowledge of mothers of under five-year-old children regarding, diarrheal home management in Cantonment General Hospital, Rawalpindi. Material and Methods: This was an observational cross-sectional study carried out at Department of Pediatrics, Cantonment General Hospital, Rawalpindi, from 1st August, 2017 to 31st January, 2018. About 400 mothers of under five-year-old children, coming to the outpatient department of the hospital were enrolled in this study. A self-designed structured and validated questionnaire was used to assess the level of knowledge of mothers regarding home management of diarrhea using Oral Rehydration Solution (ORS) and Zinc. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 23 with a p value < 0.05 considered statistically significant. Results: About 91% (n=364) of mothers had awareness regarding use of ORS as a means of diarrheal home management. Regarding level of knowledge variable results were found. A good percentage of mothers had knowledge of the purpose of ORS use (78.3%), administration (60%) and initiation of ORS (68%), but only 20.8% mothers rightly answered the timing of ORS administration. Mothers knowledge about the use of zinc, daily administration and duration of administration (10-14 days) was 38.8% ,20.5% and 17.3% respectively.  Mothers who were more educated especially secondary and above and of the age group 22-31, had better awareness of ORS than others, as P value is less than 0.05. Among mothers who were aware of the use of ORS, only 41.8% of them were also aware of the use of zinc. Conclusion: A high awareness level regarding ORS use in mothers was reflected fairly in terms of purpose, administration and initiation of ORS but the knowledge of mothers regarding use of zinc and timing of ORS administration, in home management of diarrhea is still lacking.