Adedini Sunday A, Alaba Oluwatoyin A, Lex-Ojei Christiana A
Demography and Social Statistics Department, Federal University Oye-Ekiti, Oye-Ekiti, Nigeria.
Programme in Demography and Population Studies, University of the Witwatersrand, Schools of Public Health and Social Sciences, Johannesburg, South Africa.
Afr J Reprod Health. 2021 Dec;25(6):121-133. doi: 10.29063/ajrh2021/v25i6.13.
Two-thirds of Nigeria's childhood deaths is attributable to four preventable/curable diseases-diarrhoea, malaria, meningitis and pneumonia (DMMP). Community perspectives and caregivers' practices about these child-killer diseases are poorly documented. Drawing on individual and group interviews (n=259), we explored community members' perspectives, and caregivers' practices/responses regarding DMMP among children across Nigeria's three major ethnic groups. Using deductive reasoning and data analysis in Atlas.ti, results from the narratives formed four thematic issues-respondents' perception and knowledge about the causes of the diseases; perception and knowledge about prevention; perception and knowledge of symptoms and fatality of the diseases; and caregivers' practices regarding the prevention and management of the diseases. Results demonstrate significant misconception about the aetiology of pneumonia and meningitis. We found ostensible disconnection between knowledge and practice. Interventions including health education programmes/sensitizations on the causes, prevention/management of DMMP are necessary to achieve reduction in the burden of childhood mortality in Nigeria.
尼日利亚儿童死亡病例中有三分之二归因于四种可预防/可治愈的疾病——腹泻、疟疾、脑膜炎和肺炎（DMMP）。关于这些儿童杀手疾病的社区观点和照料者的做法，记录甚少。通过个人访谈和小组访谈（n = 259），我们探讨了尼日利亚三大主要族群中社区成员对DMMP的观点以及照料者的做法/应对措施。运用演绎推理并在Atlas.ti中进行数据分析，这些叙述的结果形成了四个主题问题——受访者对疾病病因的认知和了解；对预防的认知和了解；对疾病症状和致命性的认知和了解；以及照料者在疾病预防和管理方面的做法。结果表明，人们对肺炎和脑膜炎的病因存在重大误解。我们发现知识与实践之间存在明显脱节。开展包括针对DMMP病因、预防/管理的健康教育项目/宣传活动等干预措施，对于减轻尼日利亚儿童死亡率负担至关重要。
