Abstract

In Uganda, diarrhea is the second killer of children after malaria. Uganda’s diarrhea prevalence rate in children
under five was 26% according to World Health Organization (WHO). This study was designed to assess the
knowledge, attitudes, and practices of mothers/caregivers regarding oral rehydration therapy at Ishaka Adventist
Hospital, Bushenyi district, Uganda. A simple random sampling technique was used to select 100 mothers of underfive
children. A validated semi-structured Questionnaire was used for data collection. The questionnaire included
16-point Oral Rehydration Therapy (ORT) knowledge scales. ORT/SSS knowledge scores of 0-5, >5-10, and >10-
16 were considered poor, fair, and good, respectively. The age of respondents was 29.8±5.5 years. Their main
occupations are petty trading (43%), full-time “housewives” (36%), and artisanship (13%). Most respondents (98%)
were aware of ORT, 95% correctly stated the composition of Oral Rehydration Salt (ORS) and 44% were able to
state the correct proportions of sugar, salt, and water in ORS. Respondents’ sources of information about ORT
included health personnel (79%), relatives (11%), and television (6%). The majority (80%) of respondents reported
that their child (ren) had diarrhea within the three months preceding the study and the home treatment given
included the use of ORT (50%); others gave native medicine (19%). Seventy percent of respondents stated that they
could prepare ORS, but 73% preferred taking children with diarrhea to the hospital instead of using ORS. Knowledge
about oral rehydration therapy was high among respondents, but their use of oral rehydration was low. Training,
public enlightenment, and social marketing strategies are needed to promote the use of oral rehydration therapy
among mothers of under-five children.