Integrated Community Case Management Utilization Status and Associated Factors Among Caretakers of Sick Children Under the Age of 5 Years in West Shewa, Ethiopia.

OBJECTIVE

To assess the utilization status and associated factors of integrated community case management (ICCM) of caretakers with <5 years of sick children.

METHODS

Community-based cross-sectional study was employed with caretakers whose child was sick in the last 3 months before data collection. Bivariate and multivariable logistic regression analyses were employed.

RESULTS

About 624 respondents participated in the study; 325 (52.1%) utilized integrated community case management. Caring for children between the ages 24-36 months old, (AOR = 1.26, 95%CI: 0.23, 0.90); women health development army (WHDA) training, (AOR = 5.76, 95%CI: 3.57, 9.30); certified as model family, (AOR = 3.98, 95%CI: 2.45, 6.46); perceived severity, (AOR = 5.29, 95%CI: 2.64, 10.60); awareness of danger sign, (AOR = 2.76, 95%CI: 1.69, 4.50), and awareness of ICCM, (AOR = 5.42, 95%CI: 1.67, 17.58) were associated with ICCM utilization.

CONCLUSION

This study revealed that age of the child, caretakers' awareness of ICCM, awareness of danger signs, illness severity, women's health developmental army training, and graduation as a model family were associated with ICCM utilization. Therefore, it is recommended that promote health education using community-level intervention modalities focusing on common childhood illness symptoms, danger signs, severity, and care-seeking behavior.