ABSTRACT
This chapter presents a case study to examine acceptance of oral rehydration therapy (ORT) in a Haitian community. It explains which mothers were using the treatment and why, and what extent traditional healers had incorporated ORT in their activities. The chapter describes how ORT fit into traditional practices for home management of diarrhea. It focuses on a single community health program to allow for interpretation of findings in ethnographic context. The overall design of the study can be described as a community survey and ethnography. Projects which are commissioned by a client group usually have a utilization strategy that is largely built into the study design. Knowledge and use of ORT was found to be highest among respondents living in the more urban areas, those who were literate and had a better economic position, and those in which a family member had recently used modern medical services.
