EFFECT OF HEALTH-EDUCATION AND PRIMARY-CARE ON DIARRHEAL DISEASE MORBIDITY IN CHILDREN - EVALUATION OF A PREDICTIVE INTERVENTION MODEL

Two groups of infants (intervention group n=66, and control group n=45) at risk of persistent diarrhoea (PD) as identified by a predictive model were followed for 12 months. Families were visited at home weekly; mothers in the intervention group received information about prevention and treatment of diarrhoea and were encouraged to seek help in the field station when their children became ill. These children suffered fewer days with any illness, diarrhoea, or respiratory episodes (p<0.00001 each). Also, in this group, the incidence of PD decreased to the levels of nonselected population only in children whose mothers consulted for the episode of diarrhoea (2.8%). Results show that the intervention decreased the time children suffered diarrhoea and also respiratory and other illnesses. This suggests that the predictive model identified children with high risk but is not disease-specific. Risk appears to be related to maternal behaviours. The model may be useful in the community for detecting groups vulnerable to common paediatric illnesses, including diarrhoeal disease.