Bachrach Lela Rose, Gardner Julie Meeks
University of California at Berkeley-University of California at San Francisco Joint Medical Program, University of California, San Francisco, California, USA.
Rev Panam Salud Publica. 2002 Jul;12(1):37-44. doi: 10.1590/s1020-49892002000700006.
To study the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of caregivers in Kingston, Jamaica, regarding childhood diarrhea and dehydration in order to determine if limited caregiver knowledge about the prevention and treatment of diarrhea and dehydration puts children at increased risk of presenting at the hospital for these concerns.
The study was an observational case-control study conducted between February 1997 and May 1997 at Bustamante Hospital for Children in Kingston. Convenience sampling was used and data were collected by face-to-face interviews with two groups of caregivers of children under 5 years of age. One group (n = 117) presented with children with acute gastroenteritis, and the other group (n = 98) presented with acute concerns unrelated to gastroenteritis. While 197 of the 215 caregivers interviewed were the mother of a child, there were also 9 guardians, 5 fathers, and 4 grandmothers in the sample.
The mean caregiver age, level of education, and socioeconomic status were similar for the two groups. The caregivers in the gastroenteritis group were more likely to present with younger children and to have less convenient access to running water or a refrigerator. Children of caregivers who had never heard of oral rehydration therapy were at increased risk of presenting with gastroenteritis and dehydration (odds ratio [OR], 4.6; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.8-11.7), as were children of caregivers with low knowledge scores about the prevention and treatment of diarrhea and dehydration (OR, 3.7; 95% CI, 1.6-8.8). Another independent risk factor was a caregiver's poor sense of self-reliance in managing a child's diarrhea (OR, 2.3; 95% CI, 1.1-4.9).
These findings highlight a need to enhance educational efforts that will empower caregivers to protect their children from diarrhea-associated morbidity and mortality.
研究牙买加金斯敦照顾者关于儿童腹泻和脱水的知识、态度及行为，以确定照顾者对腹泻和脱水预防及治疗的知识有限是否会使儿童因这些问题前往医院就诊的风险增加。
该研究为1997年2月至1997年5月在金斯敦的 Bustamante 儿童医院进行的一项观察性病例对照研究。采用便利抽样，通过对两组5岁以下儿童的照顾者进行面对面访谈收集数据。一组（n = 117）是患有急性胃肠炎儿童的照顾者，另一组（n = 98）是患有与胃肠炎无关的急性疾病的照顾者。在接受访谈的215名照顾者中，197名是孩子的母亲，样本中还有9名监护人、5名父亲和4名祖母。
两组照顾者的平均年龄、教育水平和社会经济地位相似。胃肠炎组的照顾者所照顾的儿童年龄更小，且获得自来水或冰箱的条件较差。从未听说过口服补液疗法的照顾者的孩子患胃肠炎和脱水的风险增加（优势比[OR]，4.6；95%置信区间[CI]，1.8 - 11.7），对腹泻和脱水预防及治疗知识得分低的照顾者的孩子也是如此（OR，3.7；95%CI，1.6 - 8.8）。另一个独立的风险因素是照顾者在处理孩子腹泻时自我依赖感较差（OR，2.3；95%CI，1.1 - 4.9）。
这些发现凸显了加强教育工作的必要性，以使照顾者有能力保护孩子免受腹泻相关的发病和死亡风险。
