Measuring Sugar, Salt and Water
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Measuring Sugar, Salt and Water
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Correct the confusion created by years of mixed
messages regarding measurement of the ingredients in rehydration
solutions. Mothers will receive a plastic one-litre bottle, with a label
about how to recognize signs and degrees of dehydration, how to prepare
home fluids for rehydration, and how to mix and prepare home-made and
packaged ORS. Additionally, they will receive a 2-sided spoon to
correctly measure salt and sugar. |
| Name: Measuring Sugar, Salt, and Water to
Treat Dehydration at Home |
| Status: |
| Theme: Health Education to Mothers |
Region and Country: Maharashtra, India |
| Partners: |
Beneficiaries: |
| Funding Need: |
Budget: |
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Contact: |
Programme Activities:
If mothers could recognize and treat dehydration early on at home, the great
majority of children would not need additional medical care. While only 41%
of mothers in Maharashtra can correctly identify symptoms suggesting a child
needs medical treatment for dehydration, 77% take a child with diarrhoea to a
health facility. In this way, better practice and education would save
mothers the trouble and expense of travelling to the health centre (and also
prevent them from spending money on unnecessary drugs), and it would release
some of the burden on health facilities, allowing better treatment for
children who are severely ill.
However, studies have shown that in the case of both ORS and home solutions,
health-care providers at several levels or mothers cannot correctly measure
one litre of water. And in the specific case of home solutions, there are
further confusions among measurements of sugar and salt, such as variations
in size of pinches, spoons, and water vessels, which all make the task of
measuring such solutions far more difficult.
This program will educate mothers how to recognize and treat dehydration
early on at home, and correct the confusion created by years of mixed
messages regarding measurement of the ingredients in rehydration solutions.
Mothers will receive a plastic one-litre bottle, with a label about how to
recognize signs and degrees of dehydration, how to prepare home fluids for
rehydration, and how to mix and prepare home-made and packaged ORS.
Additionally, they will receive a 2-sided spoon to correctly measure salt and
sugar.
Intended Results:
Mothers will be educated about how to recognize and treat dehydration early
on at home, and provided with materials to ensure correct measurement for
home-prepared rehydration solutions. Mothers in Maharashtra could prevent up
to 90% of diarrhoeal deaths with this practice and other sound diarrhoea
management measures if administered early and correctly.
Programme Management and Implementation:
The plastic one-litre bottle with relevant information printed on it, and the
2-sided spoon to correctly measure salt and sugar will be distributed to all
mothers in the state of Maharashtra. Health care providers will ensure that
mothers are using the materials correctly for the specified purposes. The
materials designed for and used in the programme will be pre-tested to ensure
clarity and success on a larger scale.
Programme Monitoring and Evaluation:
Programme monitoring will ensure that materials are reaching all mothers in
the state of Maharashtra, and that mothers understand how to recognize signs
of dehydration early on at home, and can use the materials provided to
prepare a correctly measured rehydration solution. Statistics on mothers
ability to correctly recognize and treat dehydration early on at home, and
mothers ability to correctly measure and prepare a home rehydration solution
will be compared to and evaluated to those before program implementation. The
programme will be modified as necessary.
Learning and Dissemination:
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