Department of Surgical Nursing, School of Nursing, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Gondar, Gondar, Ethiopia.
Department of Emergency and Critical Care Nursing, School of Nursing, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Gondar, Gondar, Ethiopia.
PLoS One. 2024 May 16;19(5):e0303680. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0303680. eCollection 2024.
INTRODUCTION: Despite the decrease in the global under-five mortality rate, the highest rates of mortality are reported in sub-Saharan Africa. More than one-third of all deaths among under-five children are either from lower respiratory tract infections, diarrhea, or malaria. Poor treatment-seeking behavior for fever among mothers of under-five children is a big concern in sub-Saharan Africa. However, the pooled prevalence of prompt treatment of fever and its associated factors among under-five children in the region using nationally representative data is not known. Therefore, the findings of this study will inform policymakers and program managers who work on child health to design interventions to improve the timely and appropriate treatment of fever among under-five children. METHODS: Data from the recent demographic and health surveys of 36 countries in sub-Saharan Africa conducted between 2006 and 2022 were used. A total weighted sample of 71,503 living children aged under five years with a fever was included in the study. Data extracted from DHS data sets were cleaned, recorded, and analyzed using STATA/SE version 14.0 statistical software. Multilevel mixed-effects logistic regression was used to determine the factors associated with the outcome variable. Intra-class correlation coefficient, likelihood ratio test, median odds ratio, and deviance (-2LLR) values were used for model comparison and fitness. Finally, variables with a p-value <0.05 and an adjusted odds ratio with a 95% confidence interval were declared statistically significant. RESULTS: The pooled prevalence of prompt treatment of fever among under-five children in sub-Saharan African countries was 26.11% (95% CI: 25.79%, 26.44%). Factors like maternal education [AOR = 1.18; 95% CI (1.13, 1.25)], maternal working status [AOR = 1.34; 95% CI (1.27, 1.41)], media exposure [AOR = 1.05; 95% CI (1.01, 1.10)], household wealth index [AOR = 1.13; 95% CI (1.06, 1.19)], distance to a health facility [AOR = 1.18; 95% CI (1.13, 1.23)], healthcare decisions [AOR = 1.34; 95% CI (1.01, 1.77)], visited healthcare facility last 12 months [AOR = 1.45; 95% CI (1.38, 1.52)], antenatal care attendance [AOR = 1.79; 95% CI (1.61, 1.99)], place of delivery [AOR = 1.55; 95% CI (1.47, 1.63)], and community-level antenatal care utilization [AOR = 1.08; 95% CI (1.02,1.14)] were significantly associated with prompt treatment of fever among under-five children. CONCLUSION: The pooled prevalence of prompt treatment of fever among under-five children in sub-Saharan African countries was low. Educated women, working mothers, having media exposure, rich household wealth status, perceiving distance to a health facility was not a big problem, making healthcare decisions with husband or partner, visiting healthcare facility in the last 12 months, antenatal care attendance, health facility delivery, and high community-level antenatal care utilization increase the odds of prompt treatment of fever. Therefore, women's empowerment, information dissemination through mass media, maintaining regular visits to healthcare facilities, and strengthening health facility delivery and antenatal care services are strongly recommended.
简介:尽管全球五岁以下儿童死亡率有所下降,但撒哈拉以南非洲的死亡率仍然最高。三分之一以上五岁以下儿童的死亡是由下呼吸道感染、腹泻或疟疾引起的。撒哈拉以南非洲地区,五岁以下儿童的母亲在发烧时寻求治疗的行为不佳,这是一个令人担忧的问题。然而,该地区使用全国代表性数据评估五岁以下儿童及时治疗发烧的普遍程度及其相关因素的情况尚不清楚。因此,这项研究的结果将为儿童健康工作的政策制定者和项目管理者提供信息,以便他们设计干预措施,改善五岁以下儿童及时和适当治疗发烧的情况。
方法:本研究使用了 2006 年至 2022 年期间在撒哈拉以南非洲地区进行的最近的人口与健康调查的数据。研究纳入了 71503 名有发热症状的五岁以下活产儿童的总加权样本。从 DHS 数据集提取的数据经过清理、记录,并使用 STATA/SE 版本 14.0 统计软件进行分析。使用多水平混合效应逻辑回归来确定与结局变量相关的因素。使用类内相关系数、似然比检验、中位数优势比和偏差(-2LLR)值进行模型比较和拟合度评估。最后,将 p 值<0.05 且 95%置信区间的调整优势比具有统计学意义的变量进行了声明。
结果:撒哈拉以南非洲国家五岁以下儿童及时治疗发烧的总体流行率为 26.11%(95%CI:25.79%,26.44%)。母亲教育[优势比(AOR)=1.18;95%置信区间(CI)(1.13,1.25)]、母亲工作状况[AOR=1.34;95%CI(1.27,1.41)]、媒体接触[AOR=1.05;95%CI(1.01,1.10)]、家庭财富指数[AOR=1.13;95%CI(1.06,1.19)]、距医疗机构的距离[AOR=1.18;95%CI(1.13,1.23)]、医疗保健决策[AOR=1.34;95%CI(1.01,1.77)]、过去 12 个月内是否就诊过医疗机构[AOR=1.45;95%CI(1.38,1.52)]、是否接受过产前护理[AOR=1.79;95%CI(1.61,1.99)]、分娩地点[AOR=1.55;95%CI(1.47,1.63)]和社区层面产前护理利用率[AOR=1.08;95%CI(1.02,1.14)]与五岁以下儿童及时治疗发烧显著相关。
结论:撒哈拉以南非洲国家五岁以下儿童及时治疗发烧的总体流行率较低。受教育程度较高的女性、有工作的母亲、接触媒体、家庭财富状况较好、认为去医疗机构不困难、与丈夫或伴侣共同做出医疗保健决策、过去 12 个月内就诊过医疗机构、接受过产前护理、在医疗机构分娩以及社区层面产前护理利用率较高,这些因素都会增加及时治疗发烧的可能性。因此,强烈建议增强妇女权能、通过大众媒体传播信息、定期就诊医疗机构以及加强医疗机构分娩和产前护理服务。
BMC Infect Dis. 2023-6-12