On November 11-15, 2012 the 61st Annual Meeting of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene brought together clinicians, scientists, and global organizations to discuss global healthcare, tropical medicine, and control and prevention of infectious and other diseases. SC4CCM shared new lessons with the conference attendees though a poster presentation and a panel presentation at the ORS Symposium event.
The Scaling up ORS and Zinc for the Management of Diarrhea: A Discussion of Case Studies, Market Research and Provider Behaviors symposium on November 13 was a success with more than 50 attendees in the audience. Jon Rohde of MSH moderated the group from 4 organizations: Shelby Wilson of BMGF, Evan Simpson of PATH, Theresa Diaz of UNICEF, and Alexis Heaton of JSI/SC4CCM. Presentations covered topics of scaling up ORS and Zinc, ORS market research, and diarrhea treatment. Alexis of SC4CCM gave the presentation “Last Mile Perspectives on ORS and Zinc: CHW Experiences from Malawi & Ethiopia”.
The SC4CCM presentation shared results from recent focus groups in Malawi and Ethiopia where community health workers (CHWs) were asked about their experiences transporting, managing, and administering ORS and zinc. They also shared feedback they had received on the products from caregivers and children. A central finding was that CHWs in both countries feel that the blister packs are ideal for transport, storage, and dispensing to patients and that flavor and palatability are critical to children’s acceptance of medicines. Read the full presentation here.
