This study highlights that children of caregivers in Kingston, Jamaica, with limited knowledge about ORT were at increased risk of presenting at the hospital with a child with acute gastroenteritis and/or dehydration, even when adjusted for potential confounders such as caregiver age, educational status, and socioeconomic status. If she had a low sense of self-reliance in managing her child's gastroenteritis, independent of her actual knowledge on the topic, her child was also at increased risk. We encountered a great deal of misinformation circulating regarding the prevention and treatment of gastroenteritis, based both on outdated recommendations from Western medicine and on Jamaican folk beliefs. In addition, many caregivers had unrealistic expectations of ORS, which could understandably lead to disillusionment with its use