Elegbe I A, Juba A
Department of Medical Microbiology and Parasitology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Ife, Ile-Ife, Nigeria.
Child Care Health Dev. 1988 Jan-Feb;14(1):51-8. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2214.1988.tb00562.x.
Five hundred and fifteen homes of nursing mothers in Ile-Ife, Nigeria, who had earlier brought their children for treatment of diarrhoeal diseases at the IUTHC infant child welfare clinics were visited between January 1982 and June 1984. The mothers' perceptions as to causes, prevention and control of childhood enteritis were elicited: 49.7% of the mothers attributed the cause of the disease to evil spirits; and 9.5% believed enteritis in children to be due to contamination of children's feeds. Modern medicine was perceived to be the ideal method for treating this disease by only 7.4% of the mothers, while 88.8% opted for any of the traditional methods. In order to reduce the devasting effects of enteric diseases among children born to mothers in tropical countries of Africa and Asia, it is imperative that all health workers understand the cultural and social perceptions of their clients towards the disease in question. Illiteracy, and unsanitary and unhygienic environmental conditions were found to be the main factors precipitating enteritis. Implications and strategies for minimizing diarrhoea and other childhood enteric diseases are discussed in the text.
1982年1月至1984年6月期间，走访了尼日利亚伊费地区515位哺乳期母亲的家庭，这些母亲曾带孩子到伊费大学教学医院儿童福利诊所治疗腹泻疾病。了解了母亲们对儿童肠炎病因、预防和控制的看法：49.7%的母亲将疾病原因归咎于邪灵；9.5%的母亲认为儿童肠炎是由于儿童食物受到污染。只有7.4%的母亲认为现代医学是治疗这种疾病的理想方法，而88.8%的母亲选择了任何一种传统方法。为了减少非洲和亚洲热带国家母亲所生孩子患肠道疾病的破坏性影响，所有卫生工作者必须了解其服务对象对相关疾病的文化和社会认知。发现文盲以及不卫生的环境条件是引发肠炎的主要因素。文中讨论了将腹泻和其他儿童肠道疾病降至最低的意义和策略。
