Healthcare-seeking behaviour of primary caregivers for acute otitis media in children aged 6 months to <30 months in Panama: results of a cross-sectional survey

BMC Pediatrics

Research Article

Rosario Turner¹  Iris Villarreal²  William P. Hausdorff³  Jean-Yves Pirçon³  Maria M. Castrejon⁴  Eric Gemmen⁵  Hyejin Jo⁶  Julie Park⁶ 

[1] Caja de Seguro Social de Panamá, La Chorrera, 507, Panama City, Panama;Cromsource for GSK, Avenue Fleming 20, W23 B2-183, 1300, Wavre, Belgium;GSK, Avenue Fleming 20, 1300, Wavre, Belgium;GSK, City of Knowledge, 230 BLDG, Panama City, Panama;Quintiles Real-world & Late Phase Research, 1801 Rockville Pike, 20852, Rockville, MD, USA;Quintiles Real-world & Late Phase Research, 201 Broadway, 02139, Cambridge, MA, USA;

关键词: Acute otitis media;    Ear infection;    Survey;    Caregivers’ behaviour;    Healthcare utilization;    Healthcare facility;    Severity of illness;    Childhood;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12887-016-0760-1

 received in 2016-05-14, accepted in 2016-12-15,  发布年份 2017

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundAcute otitis media (AOM) is the most common bacterial childhood infection. However, caregivers with children having mild episodes often do not seek healthcare services, which may lead to an under-appreciation of the disease experienced by the community. The objectives of this survey were to estimate the proportion of primary caregivers who went to a healthcare facility when they suspected that their child aged 6 to <30 months was having an AOM episode during the past 6 months and to assess what factors influenced their decision.MethodsThis observational, cross-sectional survey of primary caregivers (≥18 years), with at least one child aged 6 to <30 months was performed in 19 healthcare facilities in Panama (March to May 2013). A 28-item paper questionnaire was administered to assess demographic data, AOM symptoms, as well as potential healthcare-seeking behaviour and factors influencing this behaviour. Potential confounding effects were individually assessed using Chi-squared or Cochran-Mantel-Haenszel tests, and all together in logistic regression models.ResultsThe total number of eligible participants was 1330 (mean age 28.5 ± 8.0 years). Of these, 245 participants had at least one child whom they suspected had an AOM episode during the past 6 months. Of the 245 participants, 213 (86.9%) sought healthcare at a facility. Several factors were associated with healthcare usage: perceived severity of illness (p = 0.001), occupational status of the caregiver (p = 0.002), household income (p = 0.016) and length of time since the last suspected AOM episode (p = 0.032).ConclusionsWhen confronted with a child with obvious symptoms of AOM, the majority of caregivers reported seeking healthcare. This behaviour appeared to be associated with factors related to the severity of the illness, the length of time since the last episode, as well as with the income and occupational status of the caregivers themselves. As many episodes of AOM present with non-specific respiratory symptoms, our results apply only to caregivers who were confronted with children with an obvious symptom.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© The Author(s). 2017