Despite the known health risks associated with dehydration, to our knowledge, no studies have been conducted to assess awareness of dehydration and fluid intake practices among adults in Hosanna town, South Central Ethiopia. Therefore this study aims to assess awareness of dehydration and fluid intake practices among the adult population in Hosanna town, south-central Ethiopia. A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 422 selected adults in Hosanna town. The study participants were recruited by multistage sampling. A face-to-face interview using a structured questionnaire was administered. A total of 407 adults were interviewed with a response rate of 96.4%. Of the study participants, 379(93.1%) had good knowledge of the definition of dehydration and 314(77.1%) had good knowledge of dehydration prevention. Brain damage 355(87.2%) was the most reported and kidney stones 158(38.8%) were less reported as consequences of dehydration. Good knowledge of daily average water intake recommendation was found to be 336(82.6%). The study participants exhibited good knowledge of dehydration definition, prevention, and symptoms. Although two-thirds of the participants met the recommendation of daily water intake, one-third of them did not meet this level. Innovative approaches to enhance healthy drinking and increasing communication with different healthcare providers are recommended.

Keywords: Dehydration, Fluid intake , Practice, Knowledge, Ethiopia