Determinants of Oral Rehydration Solution and Zinc Use Among Under-Five Children for The Management of Diarrhea in Abeokuta, Nigeria

• D.T Ajayi

Diarrhea is the second leading cause of death in children under age five worldwide. There is little evidence on determinants of oral rehydration solution (ORS) and zinc use among under-five children in Nigeria. Therefore, the main aim of this study was to identify determinants of ORS and zinc use among under-five children in Abeokuta, Nigeria. A community-based, descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted, wherein mothers of under-five children were selected using a two-stage sampling technique. A pre-tested, interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to collect data. Average marginal effect (AME) from multiple probit regression was used as a measure of association. A 2-tailed p-value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. A total of 280 respondents participated in the study. About 86% of the respondents were aware of ORS, and 82.9% had knowledge about ORS. Less than half (46.1%) of the respondents were aware of zinc, and 37.5% had knowledge about zinc. Usage rates of ORS and zinc were 66.4% and 22.1%, respectively. Determinants of ORS use were ORS awareness (AME = 0.47, p-value = 0.001), ORS knowledge (AME = 0.43, p-value = 0.001), and ORS availability (AME = 0.21, p-value = 0.004). Zinc knowledge (AME = 0.49, p-value < 0.001) was the only independent predictor of zinc use. There is need to intensify health education on the management of childhood diarrhea among mothers of under-five children in Nigeria. Furthermore, availability of high-quality and affordable supply of ORS and zinc should be improved in health facilities

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