Knowledge and practices of mothers and caregivers on diarrhoeal management among under 5-year-old children in a medium-size town of Senegal

In 2016, about one out of 10 children in sub-Saharan Africa died due to diarrhoea, causing an estimated burden of 25 million disability-adjusted life years. A prominent cause of death is dehydration linked to lack of knowledge and adequate management of diarrhoeal episodes. This study assessed knowledge and practices of mothers and caregivers on diarrhoeal management among under 5-year-old children in a medium-size town of Senegal. A cross-sectional survey was carried out between September and October 2016 in four zones of Mbour, located in the south-western part of Senegal. Mothers and caregivers of children under the age of 5 years were interviewed to determine their levels of knowledge and management practice of diarrhoea. The association between diarrhoea and source of care was determined using logistic regression analyses. In total, 367 mothers and caregivers who reported a diarrhoeal episode in at least one of their children under 5 years of age were included. Slightly less than a quarter (23.2%, 95% confidence interval (CI) 18.9-27.8%) of respondents had good management practice of diarrhoea, while 40.0% (95% CI: 34.5-45.6%) had high level of knowledge about diarrhoea. Mothers and caregivers having sought care from public health facilities had two and four times higher odds of good knowledge and good management practices of diarrhoea, respectively, compared to those seeking no care outside the home or from traditional healers. The weakness regarding knowledge and quality management practice, particularly the poor use of internationally recommended treatment of childhood diarrhoea among mothers and caregivers, confirms the low coverage of oral rehydration salt and zinc and lack of sensitization about diarrhoea. We conclude that diarrhoea management practices in this part of Senegal do not correspond with international recommendations, even when mothers and caregivers visit government health facilities. There is a need to develop and implement communication strategies for health care providers' and the mothers and caregivers in order to facilitate sustainable positive change in the management of childhood diarrhoea at the community level. Moreover, mothers, caregivers and health care providers need specific training on the current guidelines for diarrhoea management.