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

Ten percent of children with diarrhea were given more to drink than usual, 43 percent were
given the same as usual, and 36 percent were given somewhat less to drink than usual. It is
particularly unfortunate that 12 percent of children with diarrhea were given much less or nothing to
drink.
Food intake is curtailed even more than fluid intake during episodes of diarrhea. Only 4
percent of children with diarrhea were given more to eat than usual, 32 percent were given the same
amount of food as usual, and 63 percent were given less food to eat than usual or none at all. These
patterns reflect a gap in practical knowledge among some mothers regarding the nutritional
requirements of children during diarrheal episodes. A study on health-care-seeking behavior found
diverse and varied local beliefs and practices related to childhood diarrhea (Zwi et al., 2009). For
example, certain communities expressed a belief that diarrhea was caused by breastfeeding,
contamination, food consumption patterns, and the season. The initial response to diarrhea was
usually homemade rehydration, boiled leaves, or both. The 2009-10 TLDHS findings and other
studies indicate a need for further health education efforts to reduce the number of children that
become dehydrated or malnourished because of improper feeding practices during diarrhea.
Overall, 7 percent of children with diarrhea
were given increased fluids and continued feeding,
and 63 percent received continued feeding and were
given ORT, increased fluids, or both. Children age
48-59 months were more likely than other children to
receive continued feeding, ORT, and/or increased
fluids during the last episode of diarrhea. Differentials
in these indicators by other background characteristics
are very minimal.
11.7 KNOWLEDGE OF ORS PACKETS
As mentioned earlier, a simple and effective
response to dehydration caused by diarrhea is a
prompt increase in the child’s fluid intake through
some form of ORT, which may include the use of a
solution prepared from packets of oral rehydration
salts (ORS). To ascertain how widespread knowledge
of ORS is in Timor-Leste, mothers were asked
whether they knew about ORS packets.
Table 11.10 shows the percentage of mothers
with a birth in the five years preceding the survey
who knew about ORS packets for treatment of diarrhea.
Knowledge of ORS is widespread in Timor-
Leste, with 89 percent of mothers having heard of it.
Mothers age 15-19 are slightly less likely to know
about ORS than older mothers. Knowledge of ORS is
high among urban mothers and increases with level
of education and wealth of mothers. Mothers in
Ermera district are less likely than mothers in other
districts to have heard of ORS.
Table 11.10 Knowledge of ORS packets
Percentage of mothers age 15-49 who gave birth in the
five years preceding the survey who know about ORS
packets for treatment of diarrhea by background
characteristics, Timor-Leste 2009-10
Background
characteristic
Percentage of
women who
know about
ORS packets
Number of
women
Age
15-19 85.4 178
20-24 89.9 1,012
25-34 88.4 2,615
35-49
Residence
89.1 2,210
Urban 91.2 1,484
Rural
District
88.1 4,531
Aileu 93.8 220
Ainaro 95.8 318
Baucau 89.2 598
Bobonaro 94.5 587
Covalima 93.1 322
Dili 91.3 1,043
Ermera 74.0 719
Lautem 91.3 444
Liquiçá 80.6 358
Manatuto 90.2 264
Manufahi 93.3 238
Oecussi 97.3 492
Viqueque
Education
79.5 412
No education 83.7 1,980
Primary 88.8 1,656
Secondary 93.2 2,226
More than secondary
Wealth quintile
93.4 154
Lowest 85.2 1,226
Second 85.6 1,171
Middle 88.6 1,203
Fourth 90.5 1,170
Highest 94.2 1,244
Total 88.8 6,015
ORS = Oral rehydration salts
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