Examining knowledge and traditional practices of mothers with children under five in Turkey on diarrhoea according to education levels

BACKGROUND: Diarrhoea still ranks among the top causes of the deaths of children under five years old in the world. In solving this important health problem, it is necessary and imperative to know the health-related knowledge levels of mothers who take care of the child individually and the traditional practices they perform when their children are sick, in order to provide effective health education. AIM: This study aims to examine the knowledge levels and traditional practices of mothers with children younger than 5 years old regarding diarrhoea in relation to their education levels. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional web-based survey. The population of this cross-sectional study consisted of mothers with children under the age of 5 who lived in the metropolitan city Bursa in the South Marmara Region of Turkey. The survey was applied among the mothers of children under the age of 5 using the snowball sampling method via mobile platforms. The data were collected via Google Forms using a “Socio-Demographic Data Collection Form”, an “Information Form on Measuring the Knowledge Level of Mothers on Diarrhoea” and a “Form on Main Traditional Practices Used When Children Have Diarrhoea in Turkey” prepared by the researchers after a review of the relevant literature. RESULTS: In the study, the mean total diarrhoea knowledge score of the participating mothers was found to be 22.01 ± 3.72 (high). Multiple linear regression analysis was used to determine the relationship between the total diarrhoea knowledge scores of the participants and other variables. The difference in the knowledge scores based on education levels was statistically significant (p < .001). The most prevalently preferred traditional practice in the case of children's diarrhoea was “feeding the child banana” (92.5%). CONCLUSION: Maternal education level is determined to be a significant variable that positively affects diarrhoea knowledge levels. KEY MESSAGES: Diarrhoea continues to be among the top five preventable causes of death in the world and Turkey among children under the age of 5. The knowledge level of mothers about diarrhoea plays an important role in diarrhoea management. The level of knowledge about diarrhoea differs according to the education level of mothers. Traditional practices have an important place in the management of diarrhoea by mothers.