Acceptability and Compliance to a 10-Day Regimen of Zinc Treatment in Diarrhea in Rural Bangladesh

Abstract

We hypothesised that the promotion of blister packs of zinc may be carried out by health personnel in health care facilities to the mothers of children suffering from diarrhea. We predicted that good acceptability and good compliance to zinc treatment in rural Bangladesh would be over 75% and at least 60%, respectively. Between January and December 2 011, six hundred and thirty five children aged 6 - 59 months who presented with acute diarrhea received a 10-day zinc regimen. Determination of acceptability and compliance of a dispersible zinc tablet in children 6 - 59 months old was main point of the study. In-home follow-ups started within 2 - 3 weeks after the regimen began. Seventy seven percent of the mothers/caretakers perceived that the taste of the zinc tablets was the same or better than that of other medicines given to their children and expressed willingness to use zinc in the future (good acceptability). Sixty-two percent of the children completed full 10-day course of zinc treatment by taking one tablet a day that had been com pletely dissolved in a small amount of water (good compliance). There was 63% excess risk for poor compliance to zinc if father stays at home with the family [OR = 1.63 (95%CI; 1.09, 2.46) p = 0.019]. Despite vomiting, 33% children continued to receive zinc tablet [OR = 0.67 (95%CI; (0.47, 0.97, 0.032)] after adjusting for co-variates. Both acceptability and compliance to dispersible zinc tablets in childhood diarrheal illnesses are still not at the expected level in rural Bangladesh.