Background: Diarrheal disease remains a leading, yet completely preventable, cause of childhood morbidity in Baghdad, where poor water infrastructure, poverty and low maternal literacy render children under five years of age at persistently high risk. The most practical way to transform caregiver awareness into a protective action is through community health education (CHE).
Objective: This study aims to assess the effect of community health education on the reduction of diarrhea disease morbidity in children under five years of age in Baghdad City and to identify the major modifiable risk factors affecting the disease burden in this age group.
Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out in six primary healthcare centers (PHCCs) in Baghdad, from November 2024 to April 2025. Two hundred mothers of children aged 0–59 months were recruited using convenience sampling. A structured Arabic questionnaire was developed to gather information on maternal sociodemographics, child characteristics, the history of diarrhea during the preceding two weeks, and a comprehensive knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) assessment including previous exposure to CHE. Data were analyzed using SPSS v26.0, chi-square testing and binary logistic regression.
Results: The prevalence of diarrheal disease in the study sample was 63.5%. Consistent use of ORS and zinc supplementation were reported by 30% and 22% of mothers only. Maternal unemployment (adjusted OR=4.7), illiteracy (adjusted OR=3.5) and lack of previous health education (adjusted OR=2.8) were the three strongest independent predictors of childhood diarrheal risk in logistic regression. Mothers with previous exposure to CHE reported statistically significant higher use of ORS (53.5% vs 12.3%), compliance with handwashing (60.5% vs 22.8%), and lower rates of Al-Sagwa usage (4.7% vs 15.8%) (p<0.001).
Conclusion: The results are clear, community health education works and the price of not having it can be measured in childhood suffering in Baghdad. Embedding structured, culturally informed CHE within the primary health care system in Baghdad, and serious investment in water and sanitation infrastructure, is a public health and humanitarian priority.