Health care seeking behaviour for children with acute childhood illnesses and its relating factors in sub-Saharan Africa: evidence from 24 countries

Tropical Medicine and Health

Emmanuel Kolawole Odusina¹  Nicholas Kofi Adjei²  Sanni Yaya³ 

[1] Department of Demography and Social Statistics, Faculty of Social Sciences, Federal University, Oye, Ekiti, Nigeria;Department of Public Health, Policy and Systems, University of Liverpool, L69 3BX, Liverpool, UK;School of International Development and Global Studies, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada;The George Institute for Global Health, Imperial College London, London, UK;

关键词: Health care seeking behaviour;    Childhood illness;    Under-five children;    Mothers;    Global health;    Sub-Saharan Africa;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s41182-021-00385-1

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundChildhood illnesses and mortality rates have declined over the past years in sub-Saharan African countries; however, under-five mortality is still high in the region. This study investigated the magnitude and factors associated with health care seeking behaviour for children with childhood illnesses in 24 sub-Saharan African countries.MethodsWe used secondary data from Demographic and Health Surveys (DHSs) conducted between 2013 and 2018 across the 24 sub-Saharan African countries. Binary logistic regression models were applied to identify the factors associated with health care seeking behaviour for children with acute childhood illnesses. The results were presented using adjusted odds ratios (aOR) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs).ResultsOverall, 45% of children under-5 years with acute childhood illnesses utilized health care facilities. The factors associated with health care seeking behaviour for children with acute illnesses were sex of child, number of living children, education, work status, wealth index, exposure to media and distance to a health facility.ConclusionsOver half of mothers did not seek appropriate health care for under-five childhood illnesses. Effective health policy interventions are needed to enhance health care seeking behaviour of mothers for childhood illnesses in sub-Saharan African countries.

【 授权许可】

CC BY