Department of Paediatrics, Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital, Sokoto, Nigeria.
Department of Community Health, Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto, Nigeria.
Ann Afr Med. 2024 Jul 1;23(3):335-342. doi: 10.4103/aam.aam_112_23. Epub 2024 Apr 15.
In most developing countries, the health of the children is strongly dependent on maternal health-care-seeking behavior. The ability of caregivers to recognize and seek appropriate care for childhood illnesses is instrumental in reducing childhood deaths and preventing significant number of complications. The study aimed to determine the health-care-seeking behavior and associated factors among the mothers of under-five (U5) children in Sokoto Metropolis.
This was a descriptive, cross-sectional study carried out among 386 mothers of U5 children in Sokoto metropolis from August 1 to September 30, 2021. The study participants were selected using the multistage sampling technique. A structured questionnaire was used to collect the information. Data were analyzed using the SPSS version 24. The level of significance for Chi-square was set at a P < 0.05.
Majority 312 (80.8%) of the respondents U5 children had fallen sick in the last 6 months, most of which 238 (61.7%) were not taken to a health facility. The major reasons why respondents do not take their U5 children to a health facility when sick are because they bought drugs from patent medicine vendor and perceiving the illness of the U5 as not serious to warrant taking the child to a health facility in 93 (24.1%) and 63 (16.3%), respectively. There was association (P ≤ 0.05) between health-care-seeking behavior and respondents' level of education, occupation, monthly income, as well as distance taken to reach a health facility within 30 min' walk.
The health-seeking behavior of the mothers for their U5 was poor. Maternal level of education, occupation, income, and lesser number of children in the family were the factors that were significantly associated with seeking health facility care for a sick U5. This study recommends girl child education, women empowerment, and increase access to family planning by the government.
在大多数发展中国家，儿童的健康状况在很大程度上取决于母亲寻求医疗保健的行为。照顾者识别和寻求适当的儿童疾病护理的能力对于降低儿童死亡率和预防大量并发症至关重要。本研究旨在确定在 sokoto 大都市，五岁以下（U5）儿童的母亲的医疗保健寻求行为及其相关因素。
这是一项描述性、横断面研究，于 2021 年 8 月 1 日至 9 月 30 日在 sokoto 大都市的 386 名 U5 儿童的母亲中进行。研究参与者采用多阶段抽样技术选择。使用结构化问卷收集信息。使用 SPSS 版本 24 分析数据。卡方检验的显著性水平设为 P<0.05。
大多数（80.8%）受访者的 U5 儿童在过去 6 个月中生病了，其中 238 名（61.7%）未前往医疗机构就诊。受访者在 U5 生病时不带他们去医疗机构的主要原因是他们从专利药品供应商处购买了药品，并且认为 U5 的疾病不严重，不需要带孩子去医疗机构，分别为 93 名（24.1%）和 63 名（16.3%）。受访者的教育水平、职业、月收入以及到达 30 分钟步行范围内医疗机构的距离与医疗保健寻求行为之间存在关联（P≤0.05）。
母亲为 U5 寻求医疗保健的行为很差。母亲的教育水平、职业、收入以及家庭中孩子的数量较少是与为生病的 U5 寻求医疗机构护理显著相关的因素。本研究建议政府开展女童教育、赋予妇女权力以及增加计划生育服务的可及性。
