Masters Degrees (Nutrition and Dietetics)

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Browsing Masters Degrees (Nutrition and Dietetics) by Author "Audie, Lyndal Claire"

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    Adherence to zinc supplementation guidelines in the management of acute diarrhoea in hospitalized children
    (University of the Free State, 2016-01-30) Audie, Lyndal Claire; Lategan, Ronette; Nel, Riette
    English: The aim of this research study was to determine adherence to zinc supplementation as part of the treatment guidelines for diarrhoea in infants and children at a tertiary hospital in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. Zinc supplements are recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) and United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) to be given to all children experiencing diarrhoea, as zinc is a proven treatment, known to reduce the severity and duration of diarrhoea. Permission to conduct the study was obtained from the management of the tertiary hospital, as well as the Ethics Committee of the Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Free State. In this study the researcher gathered information from the case folders of infants and children admitted to the general medical paediatric ward (GMPW) for diarrhoea between 1 January 2013 and 31 December 2013. From statistics obtained from the Department of Information Technology at the hospital, it was determined that 385 infants and children under five years of age were admitted to the ward, and of these, 290 cases were included in the study. The study was a retrospective, prescription audit and all information was obtained from case folders, specifically the prescription charts and medical notes. General patient information, prescription information and medical information was collected from the case folders. Data were captured by the researcher in duplicate and compared and verified electronically. Statistical analysis was performed by the Department of Biostatistics, University of the Free State. Descriptive statistics were mainly used and medians and percentiles where calculated for continuous data, and frequencies and percentages for categorical data. This study reported poor adherence levels to treatment guidelines for zinc supplementation in children with diarrhoea at a tertiary hospital in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. The researcher recommends the need to perform training among health care professionals to increase awareness and improve implementation of zinc supplementation guidelines. Continued monitoring and surveillance were also recommended to ensure sustainability of implementation. It is also recommended that the hospital develop an institutional policy that incorporates zinc supplementation guidelines as part of the management of diarrhoea in hospitalized children.