A Study to Assess the Knowledge and Attitude Regarding Herbal Remedies Among Mothers of Underfive Children in Selected Rural Areas

Background : Herbal remedies are the traditional medicine of India. They are helpful to treat major and minor ailments of the body. For thousands of years, medicinal plants have played an important role throughout the world in treating and preventing a variety of diseases .Objectives: This study was carried out to assess the knowledge and attitude regarding herbal remedies among mothers of underfive children to treat minor ailments. Material and method :Research approach used for the study was quantitative approach. The research design selected for this study was non experimental design. The study was conducted in selected rural areas of Verkilambi Panchayat in Kanyakumari District. The sample comprised of 50 mothers of underfive children. sampling technique used was convenience sampling technique. The tool used for data collection were structured knowledge questionnaire to assess the level of knowledge and five point Likert scale to assess the level of attitude. The data collection period was for 6 weeks. Result: Study findings revealed that 23(46%) mothers had average knowledge, 17(34%) had good knowledge and10 (20%) had poor knowledge level.24 (48%) mothers had positive attitude 11(22%) mothers had neutral attitude,7(14%) mothers had negative attitude, 5(10%) mothers had highly negative attitude and 3(6%) mothers had highly positive attitude level. Conclusion: The study findings revealed that mothers of underfive children have good knowledge and favourable attitude regarding herbal remedies. So herbal remedies are used for treating minor ailments.