Abstract

Diarrhoea stands as a significant global public health issue, with the WHO reporting
approximately 2.5 billion cases annually among children below five years old. This study
aimed to ascertain the prevalence of diarrhoea and its influencing factors in children under
five admitted to Kampala International University Teaching Hospital (KIU-TH). Employing a
cross-sectional and descriptive approach, quantitative data was gathered through selfadministered
and investigator-led questionnaires, utilizing digital tools such as Google
Sheets for data collection. A total of 238 mothers, randomly selected using convenience
sampling, whose children were admitted at KIU-TH constituted the study's sample. The
results, presented through 95% Confidence Intervals (C.I), Odd Ratios (OR), and P-values, were
computed using Binary Logistic Regression with Pearson’s correlation in SPSS Version 26, and
graphically represented using Microsoft Excel Software. At the time of data collection, the
prevalence of diarrhoea among children under five admitted at KIU-TH stood at 24.4% based
on maternal responses. This high prevalence was found to be influenced by several factors,
including the child's vaccination status, the early introduction of supplementary foods,
premature weaning practices, and the child's age. Notably, exclusive breastfeeding practices
were not adhered to, with mothers introducing other foods at a young age and initiating early
weaning practices.
Keywords: Diarrhoea, Children under five years of age, Vaccination status, early weaning