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Sick child Do caretakers receive advice at pharmacies/drug shops? [message #1673] Wed, 26 March 2014 16:56
jquinley is currently offline  jquinley
Messages: 3
Registered: March 2014
Location: USA
Member
1.Pharmacies/drug shops are an important source of care for common childhood illnesses in many countries. However, it is not clear whether they can serve as a source of advice to caregivers buying drugs, or if they are just selling what people ask for. A question can be added to determine whether people with a sick child who visited a pharmacy/drug shop just bought what they already knew they wanted or whether they received advice on what to buy. This question was added to the Nepal 2006 DHS

2a. For children with fever/cough

If 534 is "h=Pharmacy" and no clinical location is selected (a-g and i are not selected) then ask:
534c. "Did you know what you wanted to buy or did you get advice on what to buy?" (choices: knew what wanted, got advice, don't know)

2b. For children with diarrhea

If 519 is "h=Pharmacy" and no clinical location is selected (a-g and i are not selected) then ask:
519c. "Did you know what you wanted to buy or did you get advice on what to buy?" (choices: knew what wanted, got advice, don't know)

3. In Nepal we were surprised that the great majority of caretakers reported that they received advice on what to buy, and this was excluding those who had the child examined. This indicated to us that a program to get the pharmacy/drug shop staff to promote zinc/ORS could be successful, rather than just marketing the idea to the general public.

4&5. This question may be useful, but it is not as important as correctly classifying source of care for sick children.

6. Our only experience with this question is on the Nepal 2006 DHS. Whether it would be equally relevant in other settings would need to be discussed.


John Quinley
A Promise Renewed Secretariat
UNICEF
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