Centro de Estudios en Salud, Universidad del Valle de Guatemala, Guatemala City, Guatemala,
Rev Panam Salud Publica. 2013 Aug;34(2):121-6.
To describe knowledge and perceptions regarding the use of oral rehydration solution (ORS) for the management of diarrheal diseases among formal and informal health care providers and community caregivers in the Guatemalan department of Santa Rosa, and to recommend strategies to increase ORS use for management of diarrhea in children.
From July to September 2008, in-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted with formal health care providers; open-ended interviews were conducted with informal health care providers; and focus group discussions and pile sorting were carried out with community caregivers.
The study participants attributed episodes of diarrhea in children to culturally recognized or folk ailments (empacho, cuajo, and varillas) that are primarily treated by traditional healers. There were knowledge deficits about 1) dehydration as a manifestation of diarrhea, and 2) management of dehydration, including the use of ORS and the need to continue feedings during diarrheal episodes. Caregivers perceived bottled/ready-made ORS products and the more expensive over-the-counter antidiarrheal medications as superior to ORS packets in the treatment of diarrhea.
In Guatemala, folk etiologies of disease differ from those of the biomedical establishment and influence the decisions made by caregivers when treating ill children, including those related to the use of ORS. Public health campaigns addressing the treatment and management of diarrheal diseases in Santa Rosa should recognize the ailments known as empacho, cuajo, and varillas and target them for ORS use by community caregivers as well as health care providers in both the formal and informal health sectors.
描述在危地马拉圣罗莎省，正规和非正规医疗保健提供者以及社区照顾者对口服补液盐（ORS）在腹泻病管理中的使用的知识和看法，并提出增加儿童腹泻管理中 ORS 使用的策略。
2008 年 7 月至 9 月，对正规医疗保健提供者进行了深入的半结构式访谈；对非正规医疗保健提供者进行了开放式访谈；对社区照顾者进行了焦点小组讨论和分类讨论。
研究参与者将儿童腹泻归因于文化认可或民间疾病（empacho、cuajo 和 varillas），这些疾病主要由传统治疗师治疗。他们对以下方面的知识存在不足：1）腹泻的脱水表现，以及 2）脱水管理，包括使用 ORS 和腹泻期间继续喂养的必要性。照顾者认为瓶装/现成的 ORS 产品和更昂贵的非处方止泻药在治疗腹泻方面优于 ORS 包。
在危地马拉，疾病的民间病因与生物医学机构的病因不同，这会影响照顾者在治疗患病儿童时的决策，包括与使用 ORS 相关的决策。针对圣罗莎腹泻病治疗和管理的公共卫生运动应认识到 empacho、cuajo 和 varillas 等疾病，并针对社区照顾者以及正规和非正规卫生部门的医疗保健提供者，将其作为 ORS 使用的目标。
