Background: Diarrhea remains one of the leading global causes of death among children under the age of 5 years; diarrhea and the resultant mortality from it is both preventable and treatable. Proper knowledge regarding the use of oral rehydration salt solution (ORS) helps in preventing morbidity and mortality from diarrhea. Objective: To assess the awareness, knowledge and practice of mothers of under-five children regarding the use of ORS and other alternative solution during diarrheal illness. Methods: A cross-sectional study involving 250 mothers with children of age 6 months -5 years was carried out. Data were collected using a semi-structured questionnaire; it included data regarding socio-demographic characteristics and questions pertaining to knowledge of mothers about ORS. Results: Out of 250 study participants, 203 (81.2%) mothers were homemakers and 212 (84.8%) were literate. It was seen that 63 (25.2%) mothers did not know about ORS, 146 (58.4%) knew about the role of ORS in diarrhea, 129 (51.6%) had knowledge regarding homemade ORS. Only 119 (47.6%) mothers knew how to prepare ORS properly, and the most common source of information regarding ORS was a doctor. 84 (33.6%) mothers had a misconception about ORS, and only 51 (20.4%) participants knew about syrup zinc. The higher education level of mother was associated with better knowledge regarding various aspects of oral rehydration therapy. Conclusion:The knowledge regarding the use of ORS in diarrhea is insufficient; hence, there is need to educate mothers regarding the use of ORS as well as homemade ORS substitutes during diarrhea.

Background: Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder is a commonly diagnosed neurobehavioral disorder in school age children. ADHD can even persist to adulthood and if left untreated can lead to negative impact not only on health but also on socioeconomic life of patients. Over the past 2 decades there have been 19 community-based studies offering estimates of prevalence ranging from 2% to 17%. Current study was aimed to estimate the prevalence and factors affecting ADHD along with the applicability of a DSM-4 based questionnaire for detecting ADHD.Methods:  Current investigation is a crossectional retrospective study conducted on 1150 children’s at two primary schools in the district of Gulbarga. School children between the age range of 7 to 12 years were screened over duration of one year and six months using Conner’s parent and teacher rating scale. Students above 65 score as per the scale were considered positive and were interviewed using DSM-4 criteria.Results: Fifty-eight (5.04%) children satisfied the criteria to be diagnosed as ADHD when interviewed with DSM-4 criteria. Males were observed to be more prone to have ADHD than females. The mean age of ADHD children was between 9 to 10 years. Major effective factors for ADHD were found to be maternal stress during pregnancy, pampering the child and addiction of playing videos games.Conclusions: Prevalence studies can aid in formulating recommendations for future clinical practice and also assist in clarifying whether the patterns of ADHD diagnosis and treatment in community settings are appropriate.

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