Abstract
BackgroundTreatment-seeking for childhood fever among caretakers in most rural parts of African region is still a major challenge. The aim of this study was to determine the treatment seeking behaviour for fever in under-5 children of Magoye and Chivuna rural areas of Mazabuka district in Zambia.MethodsTreatment-seeking behaviour was explored longitudinally among caretakers of 362 children aged 12–59 months with fever. The data was collected from caretakers using a structured interviewer-administered questionnaire at their homes. Chi-square test, one-sample test of proportions and logistic regression were the statistical methods used for data analysis.ResultsOf the 362 children with fever, 77 % of them had their treatment sought externally. In which 64 % had their treatment at health facility (HF), 18 % from community health workers (CHW), and 18 % from other sources. Early treatment (≤ 24 h) was sought for 42 % of the fever episodes. In dry season, a child had 1.53 times more likely to have early treatment compared to rainy season [OR 1.53; 95 % CI 1.30, 1.80; p < 0.001]. A child in Chivuna was less likely to have early treatment compared to one in Magoye [OR 0.62; 95 % CI 0.50, 0.76; p < 0.001]. Caretakers had a reduced chance of 27 % [OR 0.73; 95 % CI 0.56, 0.95; p = 0.022] of seeking early treatment if they took a child to other sources compared to a HF.ConclusionThis study has revealed that seeking early and appropriate treatment was suboptimal in the study areas. Source of treatment, season and location were predictors of early treatment of fever among caretakers. Policies aimed at combating poor care-seeking behaviour should not omit to address these factors.
Highlights
Treatment-seeking for childhood fever among caretakers in most rural parts of African region is still a major challenge
It has been established that health care seeking behaviour in under-5 children is influenced by educational attainment, knowledge of the causes of malaria, age of the caretakers, availability of health facilities and daily activities of the caretakers [9,10,11]
Of all malaria cases treated in the intervention group, only 6.7 % were treated at the health facility [14]
Summary
Treatment-seeking for childhood fever among caretakers in most rural parts of African region is still a major challenge. Malaria, pneumonia and diarrhoea are responsible for most of the morbidity and mortality in under-5 year old children worldwide, and accounts for approximately 3.6 million deaths annually [3] Of these three causes, malaria and Hamooya et al BMC Public Health (2016) 16:762. It was shown that long distance to health facilities [17], inadequate income and lack of community education were barriers to prompt treatment of febrile illnesses [18, 19]. These studies suggest that there are important barriers to utilization of the formal health facilities, which offer effective curative and preventive services for many of the diseases of childhood, including malaria
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