Comparability of Results Obtained by Two-Week Home Maintained Diarrhoeal Calendar with Two-Week Diarrhoeal Recall

Abstract

Many community based studies of diarrhoea in the developing world employ face-to-face interviews to obtain diarrhoeal histories. An alternative recording device that preserved the accuracy but avoided the expense and time commitment of the interview would be extremely valuable. To evaluate the comparability of episodes of diarrhoea obtained from a home-maintained two-week calendar with those histories given in response to a two-week health recall interview in a largely uneducated population, we studied approximately 1500 families for six months in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The diarrhoea records obtained for children by the two methods were highly comparable (Kappa value 0.83). The comparability was not impaired either by lack of maternal education nor by increased numbers of children in the household. We conclude that the two-week home maintained diarrhoea calendar offers comparable results with the two-week recall and in certain situations could be a useful substitute.

Green banana-supplemented diet in the home management of acute and prolonged diarrhoea in children: a community-based trial in rural Bangladesh

“…Moreover, we relied on mothers’ reports for information during the intervening period, this might be less reliable. However, it is a useful method employed in community surveys, and the reliability of the recalled information has been well documented particularly where the recall period is short (2–3 days), as in our study (Stanton et al. 19 87; Luby et al.…”

“…The day of recovery was documented by the field staff by direct inspection of stool specimen using objective criteria (soft, loose, formed) during the time of the visit and by mothers’ report for the two intervening days; the reliability of the reported information was documented earlier (Stanton et al. 1987; Luby et al.…”

Leukocyte telomere length predicts subsequent infectious morbidity among Colombian schoolchildren

“…These diaries depicted drawings of children with common infectious morbidity symptoms such as fever, diarrhea, vomiting, and cough, as well as doctor or hospital visits; parents were instructed to checkmark each day the child experienced any of these events. This method has been validated in other settings to prospectively obtain clinical infectious morbidity information (Stanton et al, 1987).…”

Common infectious morbidity and white blood cell count in middle childhood predict behavior problems in adolescence

“…Diaries have been used to register participants’ symptoms in studies of gastrointestinal and respiratory illness, including randomized controlled trials in which illness is defined according to clinical symptoms (Blanken et al, 2013; Martin, Fairchok, Stednick, Kuypers, & Englund, 2013; Pappas, Hendley, Hayden, & Winther, 2008). The use of symptom diaries has been validated in various settings (Stanton et al, 1987; Watson, Little, Moore, Warner, & Williamson, 2001), and previous studies indicate that pictorial diaries validly capture incidence of morbidity in low- and middle-income countries (Goldman, Vaughan, & Pebley, 1998; Wright et al, 2006).…”