Knowledge and Use of Low Osmolarity Oral Rehydration Salt Plus Zinc in Diarrhea Management among Mothers in Port Harcourt, Nigeria

Aim: To investigate the knowledge and use of low osmolarity ORS plus Zinc in the management of diarrhea among mothers living in Port Harcourt, Nigeria.

Study Design: The study was a cross-sectional survey.

Place and Duration of Study: Primary Health Centres in Port Harcourt. Data was collected from December 2017 – February 2018.

Methodology: A sample of 483 mothers participated in the study. A self-structured and validated close-ended questionnaire with reliability indices of 0.83 and 0.81, for knowledge and use sections respectively was used for data collection. Data collected were analyzed using percentages and Chi-square set at 0.05 alpha level.

Results: The mothers were found to have average knowledge (44.49%) about low osmolarity ORS plus Zinc, and 38.1% used it appropriately for the management of diarrhea in infants. Age, level of education and parity all significantly influenced knowledge of the mothers (all P = .000) and their use (P = .000, .001 and .000 respectively) of low osmolarity ORS plus Zinc.

Conclusion: It was concluded that mothers in Port Harcourt did not possess enough knowledge about low osmolarity ORS plus Zinc to convincingly apply it in treating diarrhea in infants. Aggressive social marketing and peer education were recommended for achieving effective diffusion of the innovation among mothers.