Knowledge and Barriers to Use of Low-Osmolarity Oral Rehydration Solution and Zinc Supplementation in the Management of Childhood Diarrhea Among Primary Health Care Providers in Imo State, Nigeria

Abstract

Low-Osmolarity Oral Rehydration Solution (L-ORS) and zinc supplementation remain the recommended gold standard for the management of childhood diarrhoea. However, since 2005, there has been little or no progress in increasing the use of L-ORS and zinc supplementation in the management of children under 5 years with diarrhoea. The study, therefore, assessed the knowledge and barriers to the use of low osmolarity ORS and zinc supplementation among primary healthcare providers. The study was a descriptive cross-sectional design carried out among health care providers working in government-owned primary health centres across the 27 LGAs of Imo State Nigeria. A pre-tested structured questionnaire was used to collect data from randomly selected 340 health care providers. Data was analysed using descriptive statistics and a chi-square test. Out of the 340 healthcare providers who participated in the study, a higher proportion of respondents demonstrated a moderate level of knowledge (75.86%), which was reflected in their moderate extent of use of L-ORS and zinc supplementation in the management of childhood diarrhoea. Major barriers contributing to the suboptimal use of L-ORS and zinc included poor availability of L-ORS and zinc supplementation (85.9%), limited training and re-training of health care workers (60.9%) and poor communication of current public trends among health providers (81.5%). Findings from the study also indicated that the level of knowledge on the use of L-ORS - zinc and cadre of the health providers were significantly associated with the use of L-ORS and zinc: p-value 0.01, p-value < 0.01 respectively. Despite the moderate level of knowledge on the use of L-ORS and zinc, there still remained identifiable knowledge gaps on key factors underlying the use of the recommended L-ORS and zinc, hence there is a need for continuous training and re-training programs for health care workers to improve their knowledge and skillsets towards promoting sustainable use of Low ORS and Zinc supplementation in the management of childhood diarrhoea.