Mwambete K D, Joseph R
Department of Pharmaceutical Microbiology, University of Health & Allied Sciences, School of Pharmacy, P.O. Box 65013, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
Tanzan J Health Res. 2010 Jan;12(1):47-54. doi: 10.4314/thrb.v12i1.56278.
Diarrhoea is an increase in volume of stool or frequency of defecation. It is one of the most common clinical signs of gastrointestinal diseases, but also can reflect primary disorders outside of the digestive system. This cross-sectional descriptive survey was conducted in Temeke Municipality, Dar es Salaam over a 4-month period to investigate on knowledge and perception of mothers/caregivers of underfives on childhood diarrhoea. Specifically, the study focused on frequency of diarrhoeal episodes and their risk factors as well as effectiveness of traditional remedies used for its management prior to seeking medical attention. A semi-structured questionnaire was used for data collection, through which a total of 161 mothers were interviewed. Of those, 74 (46%) had female and 87 (54%) had male underfives with median age of 2-years. Frequency of diarrhoeal episodes was high among the underfives and was comparable between females and males (87 vs 74; P<0.05). Medicinal plants were the most common traditional remedies employed by majority (71%) of the interviewees, which have been purported to be effective in management of childhood diarrhoea. Guava (leaves and fruits) was the most commonly used remedy in the treatment of diarrhoea. Mothers' knowledge on predisposing factors of childhood diarrhoea was poor, which was directly correlated with education level. Only about one-third of the respondents (31%) were aware of risk factors for childhood diarrhoea that cited poor sanitation and water as the main factors. Diarrhoeal episodes were perceived wrongly as normal growth stage and that were caused by several other "illnesses". It is important that further studies on traditional remedies should be carried out to validate their usefulness in the treatment of childhood diarrhoea.
腹泻是指粪便量增加或排便频率增多。它是胃肠道疾病最常见的临床症状之一，但也能反映消化系统以外的原发性疾病。这项横断面描述性调查在达累斯萨拉姆的特梅克市进行，为期4个月，旨在调查5岁以下儿童的母亲/照顾者对儿童腹泻的知识和认知。具体而言，该研究聚焦于腹泻发作的频率及其危险因素，以及在寻求医疗救治之前用于治疗腹泻的传统疗法的有效性。研究采用半结构化问卷收集数据，共采访了161位母亲。其中，74名（46%）母亲的5岁以下子女为女性，87名（54%）母亲的5岁以下子女为男性，年龄中位数为2岁。5岁以下儿童腹泻发作的频率较高，且男女之间无显著差异（87例对74例；P<0.05）。大多数受访者（71%）使用药用植物作为最常见的传统疗法，据称这些疗法对治疗儿童腹泻有效。番石榴（叶和果实）是治疗腹泻最常用的疗法。母亲们对儿童腹泻易感因素的了解较差，这与教育水平直接相关。只有约三分之一的受访者（31%）知晓儿童腹泻的危险因素，其中主要因素是卫生条件差和饮用水问题。腹泻发作被错误地认为是正常的生长阶段，并且是由其他几种“疾病”引起的。重要的是，应对传统疗法开展进一步研究，以验证其在治疗儿童腹泻方面的有效性。
