Knowledge of community health volunteers regarding treatment of acute diarrhoea in children.

Abstract

In recent years a single formulation of oral rehydration salt solution (ORS) has been shown to be effective in the treatment of diarrhea irrespective of the age of the patient and the etiology of diarrhea. In 1977 the government of India launched the community health volunteers (CHV) scheme to increase the reaches of the health care delivery system. Various aspects of management of diarrhea have been taught to CHVs in selected community development blocks in Haryana State India since 1977. The knowledge and attitude of community health volunteers who were trained in the management of acute diarrhea were assessed by a pretested interview schedule. The knowledge of CHVs trained repeatedly was better than those who were not trained at all or those taught according to official training programs. In spite of repeated training they could not enumerate signs of severe dehydration and malnutrition. 47% of CHVs continued to restrict food intake during diarrhea and 29% believed in restricting breastfeeds even after 1 year of training. The study stresses the need for repeated training of health workers and a greater emphasis on practical training in various skills needed for better implementation of programs for the control of diarrheal disease.