Home Care for Infants with Diarrhea

The research study titled "Care for Infants with Diarrheal Diseases" was conducted in the Muramvya Health Province in Burundi in 2003. The primary objective was to identify mothers' knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding home care for diarrhea by assessing their level of knowledge about the definition, causes, and consequences of diarrhea, as well as the home care practices they use for infants with diarrhea. The methodology used was a household survey (descriptive cross-sectional study) of 121 mothers aged 15 to 45 and older, with parity ranging from 1 to 3 children or more. The results show that despite awareness of diarrhea among the study population (89.25%), the causes are not well understood, and the disease persists, as 47.10% of respondents had children with diarrhea at the time of our survey. Furthermore, treatment practices are incorrect, as 22.88% dilute the child's food, 10.52% perform intestinal lavage, and 8.77% stop breastfeeding. Recommendations have been formulated.