Demographic and Health Survey 2009-10 - Timor-Leste Ministry of ...

140 | Child Health
higher among children who live in households with improved drinking water and in households that
do not share toilet facilities.
Mothers of children with diarrhea in the two weeks preceding the survey were asked what
was done to manage or treat the illness. Table 11.8 shows the percentage of children with diarrhea
who were taken to a health facility or provider for treatment, the percentage who received ORT, and
the percentage who were given other treatments, by background characteristics.
Overall, 72 percent of children with diarrhea were taken to a health provider for treatment of
diarrhea. Children age 48-59 months are more likely than children in other age groups to be taken to a
health facility or provider for treatment (79 percent). Differences in treatment-seeking behavior by
gender of the child, urban-rural residence, and mother’s education are small. Children in the highest
wealth quintile are more likely than other children to be taken to a health facility or provider for
treatment when they have diarrhea.
During diarrhea, oral rehydration therapy (ORT), which involves giving children a solution
prepared by mixing water with a commercially prepared packet of oral rehydration salts (ORS) or
recommended home fluids (RHF)—usually a home-made sugar-salt-water solution—is a simple and
effective remedy for dehydration. In the 2009-10 TLDHS, 78 percent of children with diarrhea were
treated either with ORS (71 percent) or RHF (40 percent). Ten percent of children were given
increased fluids. Overall, 79 percent of children under age 5 with diarrhea were treated with ORT or
increased fluids.
Use of ORS varies by age from 50 percent among children less than age 6 months to 72
percent among children age 48-59 months. ORS use is higher among female than male children and
among children without bloody diarrhea. There is little difference in the use of ORS by mother’s
education, but ORS use varies by districts, ranging from 59 percent in Manufahi to 92 percent in
Baucau. There is no clear pattern in regard to ORS use and wealth quintiles.
Antibiotics are generally not recommended for treating nonbloody diarrhea in young children.
In the 2009-10 TLDHS, 6 percent of children with diarrhea were treated with antibiotics, with no
notable difference between bloody and nonbloody diarrhea (7 percent and 6 percent, respectively).
Giving antibiotics to treat diarrhea is most likely in children age 6-11 months and in children in urban
areas. Home remedies were given to 18 percent of children with diarrhea, and 13 percent of children
with diarrhea were given no treatment at all.
Zinc is offered along with ORT to children with diarrhea as per IMCI protocol. Zinc is not a
substitute for ORT but when taken in addition to ORT, it reduces the severity and duration of
diarrhea. Table 11.8 shows that 6 percent of children with diarrhea received zinc only. Children living
in urban areas and in Dili are most likely to have received zinc. Children whose mothers completed
secondary or higher education and those in the highest wealth quintile were also more likely to
receive zinc than children of mothers with no education and children in the lowest wealth quintile.