Defining the Health Messages

Defining the Health Messages
Medical Interventions
Danger Signs Needing Immediate Treatment: As previously noted, the three major
medical problems addressed by the project include malaria, pneumonia, and diarrhea. In
discussions with WATCH and DepKes staff about what specifically needed to be
communicated regarded these diseases, they saw a major problem to be delay in seeking
treatment by patients and their families. From a Melanesian perspective, this is
somewhat understandable in that disease is often viewed as evidence of a social problem
that needs rectifying. Delays (from a medical point of view) often come about as families
put priority on determining and fixing the social problem, knowing that once it is dealt
with, the physical problem will also be resolved. Even though WATCH staff and other
health workers may not share these same views regarding the social cause of illness,
interventions can focus on minimising delay. Families need to know that when certain
physical signs occur (high fevers, continued vomiting or diarrhea, etc.) they need to seek
immediate medical help. Their seeking of medical treatment does not preclude dealing
with the spiritual and social causes of disease as well, but parents (particularly fathers)
need to understand the physical signs indicating that immediate medical intervention is
warranted.
3.1.2 Treating Diarrhea: WATCH staff have been able to successfully promote the use of
sweet potato flour in oral rehydration fluid as an intervention for diarrhea. Health
material should continue to focus on the treatment of diarrhea including the use of oral
rehydration fluid both from sweet potato flour or from pre-packaged rehydration mix
(since many people are familiar with the pre-packaged mix and prefer to use it when
available).
3.1.3 Making Sweet Potato Flour : Sweet potato flour has been produced for oral
rehydration therapy and as a supplement to breast milk for older infants. However the
methods used in producing the flour clash with local cultural taboos which prohibit the
cutting of sweet potato. The local logic being that if sweet potatoes are cut into smaller
pieces, the sweet potatoes in one’s garden will similarly be small and not grow. At this
point, the recommendation is made to continue to promote sweet potato flour for infant
feeding and rehydration, but to recognize that people will need time to socially consider
and process the value this new item has for them. If they see it as desirable, they will
find some way around the taboo (possibly disregard the taboo, possibly have non-locals
make the flour and cut the sweet potatoes, or another creative solution). If the flour is not
desired for other reasons, (too labor intensive to produce, not necessary when prepackaged
rehydration solution is available, etc), the cultural taboo against cutting sweet
potato will remain a good excuse to avoid making the flour.