Biomedical subjects

P D Ferrinho

Publications and source records attributed to P D Ferrinho.

21 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

PubMed1989

An evaluation of the impact of care groups on knowledge about oral fluid therapy.

Care groups (CGs) consist of unpaid volunteers, mostly women from local villages, with a commitment to promote health and well-being, with a particular emphasis on child health. CGs have been shown to be effective in promoting changes in health practices, promoting better personal hygiene and helping in the control of infectious diseases. The CG system was introduced in Venda's Donald Fraser Health Ward and oral fluid therapy (OFT) for diarrhoeal diseases was promoted from the beginning. In 1985 a survey was conducted to identify to what extent diarrhoea was a problem in the community and to determine the degree of knowledge about OFT in the population. Six hundred households in 10 villages with CGs and 600 households in 10 villages without CGs were surveyed. Despite the fact that in the CG area 76% of the respondents were aware of OFT, only 38% of these knew how to prepare the solution correctly (chi 2; P less than 0.001). The findings are discussed in the context of the theory on communication of innovations, and some recommendations are made.

Child Care↗

PubMed1989

Health authorities' support for crèches.

A study was undertaken to determine the extent of crèche services in rural areas of southern Africa, the level of support from the health authorities and their understanding of the function of and legislation pertaining to crèches in the light of the explosive expansion of preschool child-care services in both rural and urban areas. One hundred hospitals, serving mostly rural health wards, were surveyed using a postal questionnaire and the response rate was 85%. Sixty hospitals reported that crèches were in existence in their health wards and 45 claimed to be providing health care on a regular basis. Forty-one respondents were completely unaware of legislation regulating crèche services and most of the remaining 19 misquoted the legislation. Most respondents perceived the role of the crèche as providing a place of safety for the children of working parents but only 21 identified education as an important crèche function. It is concluded that there is a lack of awareness of the role of crèches in rural areas and also inadequate support for crèche services.

Child Health Services↗

PubMed1985

Pulmonary phycomycosis without obvious predisposing factors. A case report.

A previously healthy infant developed congestive cardiac failure and an acute respiratory tract infection and died 4 days after the onset of illness. Autopsy showed pulmonary phycomycosis. Published reports on cases of pulmonary phycomycosis in which no predisposing factor was known are reviewed.

Humans↗