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Introducing Zinc in a Diarrheal Control Program: A Manual for Conducting Formative Research

Describes the methods used for formative assessment in a multi-country clinical trial coordinated by INCLEN. The purpose of the trial was to assess acceptance by the global community of zinc supplementation as an adjunct treatment to ORS prior to its introduction as a policy. The manual was developed to provide a standardized approach to developing appropriate and effective messages to use both ORS and zinc together. It is very strong on behavioral aspects of zinc introduction. The clinical trial was conducted in seven sites: Lucknow and Nagpur in India; Manila, Philippines; Pretoria, South Africa; Cairo, Egypt; Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; and Fortazena, Brazil.