Public demonstrations of how to administer a life-saving diarrheal disease intervention
Diarrhea is a leading cause of child death in Burundi, accounting for 18 percent of deaths among children under five. Population Services International (PSI)/Burundi has been distributing oral rehydration salts through commercial outlets in Burundi under the brand Orasel since 2004 as part of a USAID-funded project to reduce childhood morbidity and mortality.
Despite these efforts, a nationally representative baseline survey of female caregivers of children under five conducted in 2006 showed that just 20 percent of caregivers had administered Orasel to their child during the child’s latest diarrhea episode. Although knowledge of the role of dehydration in causing death was nearly universal, less than one-third of caregivers felt capable of preparing and administering Orasel to a child.
Based on these findings, PSI/Burundi implemented a variety of strategies to increase Orasel use, including conducting public demonstrations on how to prepare and use it, disseminating print and radio messages about the benefits of Orasel, and changing the taste from a bitter flavor to an orange flavor. In the follow-up survey in 2007, use of Orasel among all caregivers had increased to 30 percent. Among those who were highly exposed to the PSI campaign, 75 percent had treated their child with Orasel during the child’s last diarrhea episode.
Caregivers highly exposed to the campaign also showed significant increases in knowledge of signs of diarrhea, dehydration, and self-efficacy for Orasel use—from 28 percent at baseline to 88 percent at follow-up. Further, 86 percent of highly exposed caregivers reported having discussed Orasel use with others. These findings suggest that social marketing of ORS and skills-building administration of the intervention can improve ORS use among caregivers.1
1Population Services International. Burundi (2007): Etude TRaC Pour Evaluer L’Utilisation de Orasel Chez Les Femmes Ayant Des Enfants Des Moins de 5 Ans. Deuxième Passage. 2008.