Addressing the Sub-Optimal Use of Oral Rehydration Solution for Childhood Diarrhoea in the Tropics: Findings From a Rural Setting in Nigeria

Childhood Diarrhea Prevalence and Uptake of Oral Rehydration Solution and Zinc Treatment in Nigeria

Given the disproportionate burden of childhood diarrhea deaths in Nigeria, this study assessed the prevalence and predictors of the disease and the uptake of ORS and zinc supplementation as treatments in a population-based national survey. Cross-sectional data from the 2018 Nigeria Demographic Health Survey were used. A log-Poisson regression was used to estimate the relative risks (RR) for the individual-level predictors of childhood diarrhea and the uptake of ORS and zinc treatments. A total of 30,713 children under 5 years of age were included in the survey. The period prevalence of reported diarrhea in the last two weeks was 12.9% (95% CI: 12.5%, 13.3%). Among the children with diarrhea, the proportion who received ORS was 39.7% (95% CI: 38.2%, 41.3%), while 29.1% of them received zinc supplements (95% CI: 27.7%, 30.5%), and 21.8% of them received both the ORS and zinc treatments as recommended. Children under 6 months of age with diarrhea had a significantly lower likelihood of being given ORS or zinc when they were compared to the older children. The institutional delivery of them, maternal employment, and improved water sources were also independent predictors of the uptake of ORS and zinc treatments for diarrhea (p-values < 0.05). Interventions to prevent childhood diarrhea and improve the coverage of ORS and zinc treatments may reduce the large burden of childhood diarrhea deaths in Nigeria.

Impact of educational programme regarding ORS therapy on the level of knowledge of mothers aged 18-35 years of under 5-year children

Context:

Diarrhoea is the most prevalent cause of morbidity and mortality among children aged under five years. To address this, an education programme is administered.

Aim:

To assess the effectiveness of a structured educational programme over knowledge of ORS.

Methods and Material:

60 mothers aged (18–35 years) of under five-year children were enrolled in this experimental quantitative study by non-probability purposive sampling method. A pre-test and post-test questionnaire administered to a group of mothers. Statistical analysis Paired t-test & Chi-Square test were applied whereas appliable.

Results:

This study showed a mean improvement of 7.36 (36.85%) in the score of pre-test and post-test as the mean score of the pre-test is 9.37 ± 4.96, and the mean score of post-test is 16.73 ± 2.97, respectively, which reveals that there is a significant improvement in the knowledge of the mothers after the structured educational program on ORS therapy.

Conclusion:

It is drawn from this study that a structured teaching programme was effective significantly in improving mothers’ knowledge regarding oral rehydration therapy.