University of Western Australia Reports Findings in Drug Research (A situational assessment of treatments received for childhood diarrhea in the Federal Republic of Nigeria): Drug Research

2024 JUN 05 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News -- New research on Drug Research is the subject of a report. According to news reporting originating from Nedlands, Australia, by NewsRx correspondents, research stated, “We assess progress towards improved case management of childhood diarrhea in Nigeria over a period of targeted health systems reform from 2013 to 2018. Individual and community data from three Demographic and Health Survey rounds are leveraged in a geospatial model designed for stratified estimation by venue of treatment seeking and State.”

Financial supporters for this research include Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Curtin Health Innovation Research Institute, Curtin University.

Our news editors obtained a quote from the research from the University of Western Australia, “Our analysis reveals a highly regionalised health system undergoing rapid change. Nationally, there have been substantial increases in the proportion of children under 5 years old with diarrhea receiving the recommended oral rehydration therapy after seeking treatment at either a health clinic (0.57 [0.44-0.69; 95% CI] in 2008; 0.70 [0.54-0.83] in 2018) or chemist/pharmacy (0.28 [0.17-0.42] in 2008; 0.48 [0.31-0.64] in 2018). Yet State-level variations in venue attendance and performance by venue have conspired to hold the overall proportion receiving this potentially life-saving therapy (0.45 [0.35-0.55] in 2018) to well-below ideal coverage levels. High performing states that have demonstrated significant improvements include Kano, Jigawa and Borno, while under-performing states that have suffered declines in coverage include Kaduna and Taraba. The use of antibiotics is not recommended for mild cases of childhood diarrhea yet remains concerningly high nationally (0.27 [0.19-0.36] in 2018) with negligible variation between venues. Antibiotic use rates are particularly high in Enugu, Kaduna, Taraba, Kano, Niger and Kebbi, yet welcome reductions were identified in Jigawa, Adamawa and Osun.”

According to the news editors, the research concluded: “These results support the conclusions of previous studies and build the strength of evidence that urgent action is needed throughout the multi-tiered health system to improve the quality and equity of care for common childhood illnesses in Nigeria.”

For more information on this research see: A situational assessment of treatments received for childhood diarrhea in the Federal Republic of Nigeria. PLOS ONE, 2024;19(5). PLOS ONE can be contacted at: Public Library Science, 1160 Battery Street, Ste 100, San Francisco, CA 94111, USA. (Public Library of Science - www.plos.org; PLOS ONE - www.plosone.org)

The news editors report that additional information may be obtained by contacting Ewan Cameron, Geospatial Health & Development, Telethon Kids Institute, Nedlands, University of Western Australia, Australia. Additional authors for this research include Ezra Gayawan, Tolu Okitika, Osafu Augustine Egbon and Peter Gething.

The direct object identifier (DOI) for that additional information is: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0303963. This DOI is a link to an online electronic document that is either free or for purchase, and can be your direct source for a journal article and its citation.

Publisher contact information for the journal PLOS ONE is: Public Library Science, 1160 Battery Street, Ste 100, San Francisco, CA 94111, USA.

(Our reports deliver fact-based news of research and discoveries from around the world.)