Nursing Management of Dehydrated Children Under Five Years Due to Acute Diarrhea in Kinshasa, DR Congo

Diarrheal diseases remain the second leading cause of death among children under five years globally. The main purpose of the current is to describe the management level of children under five suffering from diarrhea with acute dehydration at the Akram Hospital in Kinshasa. This is an exploratory descriptive research, which was conducted at Akram Hospital, Kinshasa, DRC. The target population was nurses and we interviewed 12 nurses. A questionnaire was used as a tool for data collection. The actions taken by nurses with children under five and consequently promote the quality of care of those children were observed. Descriptive statistics was used in terms of frequency and percentage. An informed consent was taken from respondents and we assured the confidentiality of respondents. The findings showed a predominance of female nurses and most are married. As to care elements, 83% of respondents use rehydration with ORS and administer infusions under Plan C. 92% of respondents treated the cause of dehydration while 33% provided personal hygiene. For monitoring elements, 92% are under frequent monitoring of stools and vomiting, For the health education elements, 75% advised the mother to give the baby at least one liter of drinking water regularly, and 83% advised the mother to give sufficient ORS. While 50% of respondents advised the mother to maintain regular handwashing. Diarrheal diseases are a major public health problem in Kinshasa, affecting mostly young children. Malnutrition remains the condition most frequently associated with diarrhea, and its prognosis is poor.

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