Abstract: Acute respiratory infections (ARI) are one of the leading causes of death among children under-five years of age, and are estimated to be responsible for up to 2.2 million childhood deaths globally. But less than half of children with ARI symptoms are taken for prompt and appropriate care.
Objectives: To assess the care seeking practices and the socioeconomic factors affecting the care seeking behavior of mothers of under-five for acute respiratory infections.
Methods: A community based descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out among 385 mothers of under-five in Iwo local government, Osun state using a semi- structured interviewer-administered questionnaire.
Result: 385 participants were involved in the study; symptoms of ARI were reported by 283 out of which 223(78.4%) were taken for treatment. Only 96(24.9%) sought for care within 24 hours of onset of symptoms, 96(39.2%) sought for care in private hospital, 23.7% went to the government hospital. The main reasons for delay in seeking health care were financial cost (52%) and feeling that condition is not serious (52%).
Conclusion: Though mothers have a relatively good health seeking behavior, health education is very essential to improve their knowledge on the cause and course of ARI and their care seeking behavior in order to reduce the burden of ARI.
Keywords: Acute respiratory infection, health care seeking behavior, mothers, under-five.
Title: ASSESSMENT OF HEALTH CARE SEEKING PRACTICES OF MOTHERS OF UNDER FIVE TO ACUTE RESPIRATORY INFECTIONS IN IWO LOCAL GOVERNMENT
Author: Grace Ademuyiwa, Oluwaseyi Olabisi,Taiwo Dosumu
International Journal of Healthcare Sciences
ISSN 2348-5728 (Online)
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