title: Incidence of pediatric diarrhea and public-private preferences for treatment in rural Myanmar: a randomized cluster survey.
abstract: The incidence of pediatric diarrhea in countries neighboring Myanmar is high (>9%). No national data exist in Myanmar, however hospital treatment data indicate that diarrhea is a major cause of morbidity.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  This study seeks to determine diarrhea incidence among children in rural Myanmar and document health-seeking behavior and treatment costs.
  
  
  METHODS
  We surveyed 2033 caregivers in households with under-five children, in 104 randomly selected villages in rural Myanmar.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The incidence of diarrhea in the 2 weeks prior to the survey was 4.9%. Home treatment was common (50.6%); among those who consulted a professional 35.6% went to government clinics, 28.8% to private clinics and 28.0% to a community health worker. The cost of treatment was highest ($15) at government clinics and lowest ($1.3) for self-treatment at home.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Pediatric diarrhea is an important cause of morbidity in rural Myanmar. Self-treatment and treatment by private providers is common.
authors.affiliation: Population Services International, Yangon, Myanmar.
authors.forename: Tin
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Aung
authors.forename: Willi
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: McFarland
authors.forename: Hnin Su Su
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Khin
authors.forename: Dominic
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Montagu
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002675:Child, Preschool; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D003258:Consumer Behavior; D003967:Diarrhea / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D005440:Fluid Therapy; D015438:Health Behavior; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006268:Health Facilities / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D002052:Myanmar / Q000453:epidemiology; D017149:Private Sector; D017150:Public Sector; D011897:Random Allocation; D015532:Rehydration Solutions / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D012424:Rural Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
chemical_list: D015532:Rehydration Solutions