KNOWLEDGE AND ACCEPTANCE OF ORAL REHYDRATION SOLUTION FOR DIARRHOEA TREATMENT AMONG MOTHERS OF UNDER FIVE CHILDREN IN ALANAMU COMMUNITY IN ILORIN WEST LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA, KWARA STATE

Diarrhoea is one of the major causes of morbidity and mortality among young children. Diarrhoea is defined as the increase in frequency of stool output associated with increased water content in stool. Timely management of the children with ORS has substantially declined the mortality and morbidity from acute infectious diarrhea. The study assessed knowledge and acceptance of oral rehydration solution in the treatment of diarrhoea among mothers of under five children in Alanamu Community, lorin West LGA, Kwara State. This descriptive cross-sectional study that was carried among mothers of under five children in Alanamu Community, Ilorin West LGA, Kwara State. Four hundred and twenty (420) respondents were selected in the hospital using simple random sapling techniques, A semi-structured interviewer administered questionnaire was used to collect data. Data entry was carried out using Statistical Package of Social Science (SPSS) Version 21. Many of the respondents (31.7%) were between the ages of 24-28 years with the mean age of 26.1 # 6.58 years. Majority of the respondents (68.6%) defined oral rehydration solution as a form of mixture for treatment of diarrhoea with only 1.7% of them had not heard of ORS before. Almost all the respondents (92.9%) agreed that educating the mothers in the practice of environmental and personal hygiene will reduce the incidence of childhood diarrhoea and 84.0% of the respondents treat their child with ORS. Almost all of the respondents (91.4%) in this study have the knowledge of the preparation of ORS. Half of the respondents (50.0%) identified that educational background of mothers affects the use of ORS. Health education of mothers improves their knowledge and practice regarding diarrhoea and oral rehydration. As regarding knowledge, the use of oral rehydration solution is a proven to preventi