Abstract
Fever is one of the most common symptoms of pediatric illnesses; it is an important early symptom of malaria. Fever had served as the entry point for presumptive treatment of malaria among children in Nigerian. Appropriate HSB is important when seeking treatment for fever among under-five children; this will help for better prognosis because treatment will be initiated early. This study attempted to identify caregiver’s HSB for under-five children with fever. A cross-sectional study was conducted in Imo-State, Nigeria. Appropriate HSB was operationally defined as seeking treatment from health facility within 24 h of fever. Data were obtained using pretested self-administered questionnaire. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 22. Simple and multiple logistic regression were used to determine predictors of appropriate HSB. A total of 559 eligible respondents were recruited; 103 (18.6%) caregivers had appropriate HSB. The predictors of HSB are being male child (aOR = 2.760; 95% CI:1.536–4.958), the age of child younger than 27 months (aOR = 2.804; 95% CI:1.485–5.295), employed caregivers (aOR = 1.882; 95% CI:1.014–3.493), number of household members (aOR = 2.504; 95% CI:1.464–4.283), and caregivers who decided to seek treatment at early stage (aOR = 7.060; 95% CI:1.616–30.852). Only 18.6% caregivers practiced appropriate HSB for fever cases among under-five children. It is essential to educate caregivers and emphasise on early treatment of fever and appropriate use of health facilities for fever. The findings will be used to improve intervention at the community level and will be compared with follow-up data to evaluate their effectiveness.
Highlights
Fever is the commonest symptom in children under the age of five years
In malaria-endemic countries, most healthcare practitioners presumed that malaria was the cause of fever; the proportion of fever due to malaria was high in the early 1990s, and the priority was to decrease malaria’s death toll [1]
The 2010 WHO guidelines for the treatment of malaria recommended that in malaria-endemic areas, clinical diagnosis of malaria should be based on a history of fever in the prior 24 h or the presence of anemia which includes pallor of the palms because it seems to be the most reliable sign in young children [2]
Summary
Fever is the commonest symptom in children under the age of five years. Fever indicates systemic inflammations; malaria; response to a viral, bacterial, and noninfectious etiology are less common among children under the age of five years. In malaria-endemic countries, most healthcare practitioners presumed that malaria was the cause of fever; the proportion of fever due to malaria was high in the early 1990s, and the priority was to decrease malaria’s death toll [1]. The 2010 WHO guidelines for the treatment of malaria recommended that in malaria-endemic areas, clinical diagnosis of malaria should be based on a history of fever in the prior 24 h or the presence of anemia which includes pallor of the palms because it seems to be the most reliable sign in young children [2]. Public Health 2019, 16, 3752; doi:10.3390/ijerph16193752 www.mdpi.com/journal/ijerph
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