Ibadan Journal of the Social Sciences
Volume 15, No. 2, 2017
DOI: 10.36108/ijss/7102.51.0280
Determinants of Hand Washing Practices and Diarrhea Prevention among Mothers of Under-Five Children in Ibadan, Nigeria
Kabiru K. Salami
Department of Sociology. University of Ibadan, Nigeria
Abstract
Childhood diarrhea is the third-leading paediatric, diagnosed in hospitals and causes nearly one-quarter of under-five death in Nigeria. Morbidity and mortality for children through diarrhea are influenced by poor hygiene practices including poor hand washing. Thus this study examines the practice of hand ‘washing by mothers as a preventive mechanism against diarrhea experience among children under age five. A pretested standardized questionnaire was administered to 600 mothers of children under age five and complimented with eight sessions of in-depth interview (IDI) conducted among mothers in Ibadan metropolis. Overall, about 58% of the mothers were within 30-39 years of’ age range, 11% had no formal education, about 31% reported diarrhea experience for their children 2 weeks before the survey while 84.5% of them sought hospital care during diarrhea episodes. Respondents reportedly drank water from stream (8.7%) and used faecal disposals (91.5%) different front water closet. hand washing after toilet use was reportedly common to all the respondents: 24,3% washed their hands with water only, while 35% reportedly washed their hands occasionally. Only 33.5% reportedly got information on hand washing practices from health workers. Education and income of the respondents influenced adoption of frequent hand washing practices (p<0.05), The study suggests focused health education for mothers through the media 011the importance of frequent hand washing practices.
Keywords: Diarrhea, hand-washing practices. under-five children, diarrhea, Nigeria