Acute Diarrhoeal Disease in Children Aged 6 Months to 24 Months: An In-Hospital Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Introduction: Diarrheal disease comes second among the causes of death in children under 5 years of old. We are well aware that this common disease is preventable and treatable. But the practice of preventive strategies is not as efficient as it should be. Aims and Objectives: 1. To determine the frequency of acute diarrheal disease in children aged 6 months to 24 months attending the immunization clinic of Lourdes Hospital, Kochi, Kerala. 2. To assess the associated factors and practices involved with acute diarrheal disease in the study group. Material and Methods: A cross-sectional study was done in children above 6 months attending immunization clinic in Lourdes hospital during the period from 1st October 2017 to 31st March 2019. After receiving their informed consent, a pretested, semistructured, and validated questionnaire was given to the mothers/caregivers to gather data on socio-demographic characteristics and practices. In order to assess the prevalence of diarrhea, details of the diarrheal episode after the 6 months of age were included in the questionnaire. To eliminate repeats, caution was taken not to include previously recorded data on the diarrheal episode. Discussion and Conclusion: The proportion of children with diarrhea in the study population was 38.7% which was high compared with other studies in the same age group. Many of the practices associated were found faulty and needing rectification which is a Family Physician's area of expertise. The study concludes that there is a need for identifying novel risk factors for diarrhea and educating the caregivers regarding the prevention of diarrhea. Primary Care Physicians/Family Physicians can play an effective role in educating the caregivers.

Keywords

• 6 months to 24 months
• acute diarrheal disease
• exclusive breastfeeding
• handwashing practices
• immunization
• vitamin a supplementation
• zinc supplementation