Diarrhoeal disease in an aboriginal community

Despite increased primary care services, diarrhoeal disease is a major contributor to morbidity experienced in Australia Aboriginal communities. Most available data is based on hospital admissions, and little is known about community incidence and attitudes. A review of clinic records provides evidence for a minimum of 1.24 episodes/year in children below five years. A survey of children in the community school identified 51% who had experienced diarrhoea in the previous two weeks, none of whom presented to the clinic. Diarrhoea without abdominal pain is not considered serious enough to seek treatment. A questionnaire confirmed that the community perceived diarrhoea as a major problem. Conventional preventive of treatment measures will not, by themselves, improve the situation and a substantial commitment by the community is required if the incidence of diarrhoea is to be reduced. Therefore it is proposed that the community should be actively involved in designing, implementing and evaluating future interventions.