Sociodemographic and clinical factors affecting recognition of childhood diarrhea by mothers in Kwara State, Nigeria.
Soc Sci Med
; 33(10): 1209-16, 1991.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-1767291
ABSTRACT
Early diagnosis of infant and child diarrhea by family members is the key to timely treatment. Factors that influence the caregiver's recognition of diarrhea have not been systematically studied, but may include characteristics of the caregiver, the child, or the illness itself. This paper examines the relationships between the caregivers' diagnoses of diarrhea during the previous 24 hr and the reported frequency and consistency of their children's bowel movements during the same period of time, using information from a representative sample of 2655 children less than 3 years of age in Kwara State, Nigeria. Diarrheal point prevalence based on maternal diagnosis (10.0%) was about half that based on the clinical criteria of three or more liquid or semi-liquid stools (18.8%). Only 36% of the mothers recognized a recent episode of diarrhea defined by the clinical criteria. Mothers were more likely to recognize diarrhea when a greater number of stools of watery consistency were excreted or when the stools contained blood or mucus. Mothers were least likely to recognize diarrhea when the child was a girl or less than 2 months of age. These results suggest that cross-cultural comparisons of diarrheal rates should use consistent, objective evidence of illness to compare rates rather than maternal diagnosis alone. Also, diarrheal disease control programs should explore those factors affecting recognition of illness in local contexts to assure that treatment recommendations can be applied in a timely fashion.
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Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Cuidadores
/
Diarreia Infantil
/
Assistência Domiciliar
/
Mães
Tipo de estudo:
Diagnostic_studies
/
Evaluation_studies
/
Guideline
/
Prevalence_studies
/
Prognostic_studies
/
Risk_factors_studies
/
Screening_studies
Limite:
Child, preschool
/
Humans
/
Infant
/
Newborn
País/Região como assunto:
Africa
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Soc Sci Med
Ano de publicação:
1991
Tipo de documento:
Article