Abstract

Diarrhea is passing of three or more loose stools per day or more frequent passage than is normal for an individual.
The study was done to assess factors contributing to the occurrence of diarrhea in children under the age of five
attending Jinja Regional Referral Hospital. This study was a descriptive, cross sectional in nature. It used both
qualitative and quantitative research methods of data collection and analysis. The design allowed for collection of
data within a period of 6 months. The study was conducted in Jinja Regional Referral Hospital located in Industrial
division, Jinja Municipality, Jinja district. The results showed that majority 192(79.7%) of the study participants’
primary caregivers were fathers. Approximately 85.5% (206/241) came from families with < 5 members, many
44.0% of the children under five years were aged 1-3 years and majority 52.3% were females. The results showed
that child’s age was significantly associated with diarrhea that is children aged 1-3 years were found to be 7 times
more likely to have diarrhea as compared to those aged less than year aOR=7.74, 95%CI 0.78-76.28. In conclusion,
the occurrence of diarrhea in children under five attending Jinja regional referral Hospital is moderate high. The
occurrence of diarrhea was seen to increase with age of 1-3 years, having unprotected spring/well as source of
water and throwing household garbage in compound.