Files
Abstract
It is widely acknowledged that the use of oral rehydra3on
therapy (ORT) for the treatment of dehydra3on can prevent death in
young children from watery diarrhea in all but the most severe
cases. Since the early 1980s, the use of ORT has become standard
prac3ce in the medical community throughout the developing
world, which has likely played a significant role in the global
reduc3on of deaths from diarrhea. However, the large number of
deaths from diarrhea that s3ll exists today indicates that the use of
ORT is not standard prac3ce in many households in poor countries.
This paper seeks to understand the gap between the widespread
knowledge of the high efficacy of ORT among policymakers and
other stakeholders in healthcare, and the actual usage rates of ORT
in rural households. Using an original dataset from rural Burkina
Faso, we examine the mechanisms driving health‐seeking behaviors
in the household as they relate to young children and diarrhea, with
an emphasis on prac3ces concerning the use of ORT.