Treatment of Childhood Diarrhoea by Operators of Drug Stores in Oredo Local Government Area of Edo State

Abstract

The treatment of childhood diarrhoea by 392 operators/attendants of drug stores in Benin City was evaluated using a semi structured questionnaire. About 72.6% of the study population dispensed drugs for childhood diarrhoea. The study also showed that the use of drugs in treating diarrhoea in children was significantly associated with those who had secondary/commercial education P < 0.001), inadequate knowledge of oral rehydration therapy (ORT) P < 0.001) , and negative attitude towards the use of ORT P < 0.001). The most commonly dispensed antibiotics include Co - trimoxazole (50.8%) and metronidazole (46.7%) while the most dispensed anti diarrhoea was mist kaolin(57.1%) . We recommend an urgent program of intervention targeted specifically at drug store operator/attendants on the management of diarrhoea in the short term while ORT instructions and management of diarrhoea be incorporated into health education curriculum in primary and secondary schools in Nigeria.


Nigerian Medical Practitioner Vol.46(3) 2004: 42-45