Food and personal hygiene perceptions and practices among caregivers whose children have diarrhea: a qualitative study of urban mothers in Tangerang, Indonesia.

OBJECTIVE To examine caregivers' perceptions and practices related to food and personal hygiene and its association with diarrhea in children 6 to 36 months of age who suffered recurrent diarrhea. DESIGN This qualitative study, conducted in March and April 2006, used both in-depth interviews and direct observation data. SETTING Urban Tangerang, near Jakarta, Indonesia. PARTICIPANTS Twenty-four mothers whose monthly household income was less than $160 US and had latrines in their homes. PHENOMENON OF INTEREST To examine the relationship between mothers' perceptions and behaviors related to diarrhea, food hygiene, and personal hygiene. ANALYSIS Interview transcripts were analyzed based on the phenomenon of interest and coded for common themes. RESULTS Mothers differentiated diarrhea episodes as either disease or nondisease. Most mothers associated the importance of food hygiene with disease prevention, contaminating agents, and health. Mothers commonly wiped cutting boards with a kitchen towel after slicing vegetables, whereas they washed the board with soap and water after cutting raw meat. Mothers perceived that the importance of personal hygiene was for maintaining health and cleanliness. The majority of mothers washed their hands without soap after performing housework and cooking. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS Improving mothers' knowledge while incorporating existing perceptions might lead to positive changes.