Knowledge, attitude and practices of teenage mothers on prevention of diarrhoea in children less than five years old in Ndhiwa sub-county, Homa bay county, Kenya

Abstract

Diarrhoea is the passage of loose, watery or liquid stools three or more times a day. Diarrhoea may be acute, persistent, or chronic and is often preventable and treatable. Diarrhoea disease is the second leading cause of mortality in children <5 years of age, resulting in approximately 1.7 billion cases globally and 525,000 deaths each year. The low- and middle-income countries account for about 90% of these deaths, with sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia reporting 88%. In Kenya, over 50% of children <5 years hospital admission results from diarrhoeal related infections. In Ndhiwa Sub-County, diarrhoea is among the leading causes of hospital admission among children aged <5 years old. Although the causes of morbidity and mortality associated with diarrhoeal diseases in children <5 years including the mothers‟ knowledge, perception and management factors has been reported, the impact of these factorsamong teenagemothers remain largely unknown. With the proportion of teenage mothers estimated at 18 % in Kenya, and 33% in Homa Bay County (ranked 1st of 47counties), this study aimed to determine the knowledge, attitude and practices of teenage mothers on diarrhoea prevention among their children aged <5 years in Ndhiwa Sub-County, Homa Bay County. Specifically, the study investigated socioeconomic factors among teenage mothers with children <5 years old, and determined their knowledge, attitude, and prevention practices on diarrhoea outcomes. A cross sectional descriptive study design was used. Total of 320 teenage mothers were recruited using multistage sampling technique. Data was collected using semi-structured questionnaires andanalyzed using SPSS software. Statistical significance was set at P≤0.050. Results from binary logistic regression model showed that the marital status of teenage mother; namely never married (P=0.016) or divorced (P=0.023) increased odds of diarrhoea in children, while mothers‟ occupation (fulltime student, P=0.027) significantly increased the odds of diarrhoea. Poor knowledge on general prevention of diarrhoea (P<0.001), rubbish dumping (P=0.010) and Rota/ measles vaccination (P<0.001) were associated with increased incidences of diarrhoea in children aged <5 years. Analysis of general prevention practices of teenage mothers and diarrhoea outcome among their children revealed that poor practices (P<0.001) increased the odds of diarrhoeal episodes. Furthermore, negative attitudes of teenage mothers towards diarrhoea prevention practices increased the odds of children presenting with diarrhoea (P=0.006). In conclusion, these results show that the teenage mother characteristics, knowledge, practices and attitudes on childhood diarrhoea and prevention were associated with reported incidences of diarrhoea among children <5 years. The study recommends that the County Government of Homa Bay develop intervention measures to mitigate identified factors associated with increased incidences of diarrhoea cases in children aged <5 years of teenage mothers.