Faculty of Health Sciences, Jimma University Institute of Health, School of Nursing, Jimma, Ethiopia.
Department of Pediatric Nursing, School of Nursing College of Medicine and Health Sciences Wachemo University, Hosanna, Ethiopia.
PLoS One. 2024 Oct 17;19(10):e0297707. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0297707. eCollection 2024.
For under-five children, receiving timely and appropriate medical attention is crucial in preventing serious and fatal complications. Unfortunately, evidence shows that parents of young children frequently delay seeking care, contributing to the death of many kids before they even get to a medical facility.
The study aimed to assess delay in healthcare seeking and associated factors for common childhood illnesses among caregivers with under-five children visiting Yem special woreda public health facilities, 2023.
A facility-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 333 caregivers of under-five children diagnosed with common childhood illnesses visiting Yem special woreda public health facilities. Systematic random sampling was employed, and data was collected using an interviewer-administered questionnaire. Delay was characterized as a long time (typically >24 hours) between disease onset and beginning of treatment. Data was entered into Epi Data version 4.7 and exported to Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 25.0. Binary logistic regression model was fitted. Bi-variable and multivariable logistic regression analyses were conducted to identify the factors that influence the delayed healthcare seeking. Adjusted odds ratios with a 95% confidence interval were used to determine the associations. Statistically significant variables were identified based on a p-value < 0.05.
A total of 326 caregivers participated in the study with a response rate of 98%. The proportion of delayed health care seeking was 74.5%. Caregivers "wait-and-see" approach is the primary reason for the delay followed by traditional home treatments. Child ≥ 12 months (AOR = 1.99, 95% CI: 1.11-3.57), rural residence (AOR = 2.41, 95% CI: 1.35-4.28), no community health insurance (AOR = 1.91, 95% CI: 1.07-3.42), traditional treatment (AOR = 2.98, 95% CI: 1.46-6.10), and initial self-medication at home (AOR = 2.73, 95% CI: 1.32-5.63) and perceiving illness as mild (AOR = 2.64, 95% CI: 1.28-5.42) were factors associated with delayed healthcare seeking.
The study showed delay in health care seeking for common childhood illnesses among caregivers was high. Hence, reducing delays necessitates the implementation of public education campaigns, collaboration with local organizations, and the provision of counseling for caregivers regarding childhood illnesses.
对于五岁以下的儿童来说，及时获得适当的医疗护理至关重要，可以预防严重和致命的并发症。不幸的是，有证据表明，幼儿的父母经常延迟寻求医疗护理，导致许多孩子在到达医疗机构之前死亡。
本研究旨在评估也门特别沃雷达公共卫生设施中 333 名五岁以下儿童常见疾病照顾者寻求医疗护理的延迟情况，并确定相关因素，时间为 2023 年。
采用在也门特别沃雷达公共卫生设施就诊的 333 名五岁以下儿童常见疾病照顾者的设施为基础的横断面研究。采用系统随机抽样，使用访谈者管理的问卷收集数据。延迟被定义为疾病发作和开始治疗之间的时间长（通常>24 小时）。数据输入 EpiData 版本 4.7 并导出到社会科学统计软件包版本 25.0。拟合二元逻辑回归模型。进行双变量和多变量逻辑回归分析，以确定影响延迟医疗护理寻求的因素。使用 95%置信区间的调整比值比来确定关联。基于 p 值<0.05 确定有统计学意义的变量。
共有 326 名照顾者参加了这项研究，应答率为 98%。延迟医疗护理寻求的比例为 74.5%。照顾者的“观望”方法是导致延迟的主要原因，其次是传统的家庭治疗。儿童年龄≥12 个月（AOR=1.99，95%CI：1.11-3.57）、农村居住（AOR=2.41，95%CI：1.35-4.28）、没有社区健康保险（AOR=1.91，95%CI：1.07-3.42）、传统治疗（AOR=2.98，95%CI：1.46-6.10）和最初在家自我用药（AOR=2.73，95%CI：1.32-5.63）以及认为疾病轻微（AOR=2.64，95%CI：1.28-5.42）与延迟寻求医疗护理有关。
本研究表明，照顾者对常见儿童疾病的医疗护理寻求存在延迟，比例较高。因此，减少延迟需要实施公众教育活动，与当地组织合作，并为照顾者提供有关儿童疾病的咨询。
