Perceptions of severity of diarrhea and treatment choice: A comparative study of HealthCom sites

Yoder, P.S. & Hornik, R.C. (1994). Perceptions of severity of diarrhea and treatment choice: A comparative study of HealthCom sites. Journal of Tropical Medical Hygiene, 97:1, 1-12.

Abstract: 

Staff of the Communication for Child Survival (HealthCom) project oversaw and reviewed 11 surveys from 7 HealthCom sites in 5 developing countries to determine the effect mother's perception of severity of illness has on diarrhea treatment choices. Mothers who perceived their children to be very sick were more likely to seek or give treatment than those who did not perceive their children to be very sick. They also were more likely to take the children perceived to be very ill to a health facility (e.g., in Zaire, 55% vs. 29% for somewhat sick and 24% for not sick; p < .0001). In 5 surveys, mothers who perceived their children to be very sick were more likely to administer oral rehydration therapy (ORT) at home (e.g., in the Philippines, 52% vs. 30% for somewhat sick and 20% for not sick). On the other hand, severity was not associated with administering herbal treatment or pharmaceutical drugs at home, indicating that mothers applied cues other than severity for using herbal medicines and pharmaceuticals. At all sites, most mothers (range, 52% in 1 site in Lesotho to 76% in the Philippines) treated diarrhea at home. These findings showed that mothers were not only willing to treat their children with diarrhea at home, they were especially motivated to treat them when the children appeared seriously ill. In fact, at least 88% of children considered to be very sick were treated in 8 of 11 surveys. The results suggested that staff of health communication programs on diarrhea should consider perception of severity of diarrheal illness as well as knowledge of ORT when designing ORT promotion campaigns.