ORAL REHYDRATION THERAPY (ORT)

Ceri Davies

March 15, 2011

OBJECTIVES

To explain what ORT is and how it can be made cheaply and simply

To highlight the importance of effective health communication.

OUTLINE

What is ORT? Why is it important? When and whom is it used for? How is it made?

Video Health Communication tips Questions

WHAT IS ORT?

A rehydration therapy made from a special combination of salts and sugar mixed with clean, safe water.

Designed to help the body replace fluids lost during illness.

WHEN AND WITH WHOM IS ORT USED?

Most commonly used for diarrhea, especially with children.

Pre-prepared Oral Rehydration Solution packages are available in many countries. When these are not available use a homemade

ORT solution.

WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?

Necessary to rehydrate the body to prevent death.

ORS packages are often used in poorer nations as an inexpensive way of reducing the millions of deaths caused each year by diarrhea. 

HOW TO MAKE IT: What You Will Need: 1teaspoon salt, 8 level teaspoons of

sugar and 1 liter of safe drinking water (filtered or boiled), container.

 1.Boil approximately 1 liter of filtered clean water. Boiling the

water will kill any contaminating bacteria and ensure that the water is sterile.

 2. Measure out 1 liter of the boiled water and in a suitable

container like a pitcher.

3. Add to the boiled water a pinch of regular table salt. Stir the solution well and ensure that the salt fully dissolves in the water.

 4. Add a heaping handful of sugar. Stir the sugar into the solution

until it dissolves. This solution is now ready to consume.

Can be combined with food (potatoes, rice, bananas)

Source: UNICEF, 2002

Sources: UNICEF, 1992; The mother and child, health and education trust. , 2011.

Incorrect ORT Mixing Instructions on Posters in Haiti

CAUTIONS

Too much or too little salt or sugar can have serious consequences, especially in infants and children, when replacing diarrhea fluid loss.

Different measurements for adults and children

VIDEO SAMPLE

http://boingboing.net/2010/11/11/wordless-video-for-h.html Wordless video. How to make ORT in camps in

Haiti to combat cholera.

EFFECTIVE HEALTH COMMUNICATION

Effective health communication involves the transformation of health knowledge into messages that are easily understood, accepted, and put into action by the audience.

Use more than one channel of communication

COMMUNICATION BREAKDOWNS

Message may only reach some of the target audience.

The audience may receive the message but not understand it.

The audience may receive the message but misinterpret it and apply it wrongly.

The message may conflict with existing attitudes and beliefs.

Poverty and/or lack of basic services may inhibit action.

Failure to fully communicate message may result in temporary behaviour change

Source: UNESCO. (n.d.)

STEPS IN EFFECTIVE HEALTH COMMUNICATION

1. Clearly define what health behaviour you are trying to promote

2. Decide who exactly in the population you are trying to influence

3. Ask whether the new health behaviour requires new skills

4. Learn about present health knowledge, beliefs, and behaviour of the target audience.

Source: UNESCO. (n.d.)

STEPS IN EFFECTIVE HEALTH COMMUNICATION (CONT…)

5. Enquire if the health behaviour you are trying to promote has already been introduced into the community.

6. Assess target audience’s present sources of information about health.

7. Select appropriate communication channels.

8. Design suitable health messages

Questions?

REFERENCES Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research. (2011). Dehydration.

Retrieved from http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/dehydration/DS00561/DSECTION=treatments-and-drugs

N.A. (2011). How to make oral rehydration solution at home. Retrieved from http://www.ehow.com/how_2146895_make-oral-rehydration-solution-home.html

Palo Alto Medical Foundation. (2003). Oral Rehydration Solutions. Retrieved from http://www.pamf.org/patients/ors.html

The Patient Education Institute, Inc. (2008). Oral Rehydration Therapy. Retrieved from http://www.patient-education.com/

The mother and child, health and education trust. (2011). Rehydration Project. Retrieve from http://rehydrate.org/solutions/homemade.htm

UNESCO. (n.d.) Twelve steps in health communication. Retrieved from www.unesco.org/education/educprog/ste/pdf_files/health/health12.pdf

UNICEF. (1992). Basic Science & Health Education for Primary Schools, Uganda. Retrieved from http://www.nzdl.org/gsdlmod?e=d-00000-00---off-0fnl2.2-

WHO. (2006). Improved formula for oral rehydration salts to save children’s lives. Retrieved from http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2006/pr14/en/