Oljira Shibru Fekadu, Merdassa Emiru, Desalegn Zelalem, Desalegn Markos
Nekemte Town Health Office, Oromia Regional Health Bureau, Nekemte, Ethiopia.
Department of Public Health, Institute of Health Sciences, Wollega University, Nekemte, Oromia, Ethiopia.
Front Public Health. 2025 Jul 16;13:1519027. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1519027. eCollection 2025.
Healthcare has gained increasing significance in the quest to achieve a healthy society. Timely healthcare-seeking can help reduce child mortality rates. In many developing countries, the health of children is closely tied to the healthcare-seeking behavior of their mothers/caretakers.
This study aimed to assess the prevalence of healthcare-seeking behavior among mothers/caretakers for common childhood illnesses and to identify the associated factors in Haro Limu, East Wollega, Western Ethiopia, in 2019.
A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted from 20 July to 30 September 2019 in the Haro Limu district. The required sample size was 459 mothers/caretakers of children under 5 years of age who had experienced a common childhood illness within the 4 weeks preceding the study. A multistage random sampling technique was used to select the study participants. Data were collected by health extension workers (HEWs) through face-to-face interviews using a structured questionnaire. The collected data were entered into EpiData (version 3.02) and exported to Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) (version 20) for analysis. Binary logistic regression analysis was performed to identify the factors associated with healthcare-seeking behavior. The findings are presented using tables, pie charts, bar graphs, and narrative text.
A total of 459 mothers/caregivers were included in this study, achieving a 100% response rate. Among children under 5 years who had experienced a common childhood illness within the 4 weeks preceding the survey, 68% (95% CI:65-71.1%) sought care from health facilities. Perceived severity of illness (AOR = 4.23, 95% CI: 2.27, 7.88), husband's education level of secondary or higher (AOR = 2.70, 95% CI: 1.29, 5.64), and belonging to the richest household category (AOR = 2.40, 95% CI: 1.06, 5.44) were identified as independent predictors of the healthcare-seeking behavior of mothers/caretakers.
A considerable proportion of respondents did not seek care for their sick children at health facilities. It is essential to educate families and raise awareness in the community regarding the importance of seeking healthcare.
在追求实现健康社会的过程中，医疗保健的重要性日益凸显。及时就医有助于降低儿童死亡率。在许多发展中国家，儿童的健康与母亲/照顾者的就医行为密切相关。
本研究旨在评估2019年埃塞俄比亚西部沃莱加东部哈罗利穆地区母亲/照顾者针对常见儿童疾病的就医行为患病率，并确定相关因素。
2019年7月20日至9月30日在哈罗利穆地区开展了一项基于社区的横断面研究。所需样本量为459名5岁以下儿童的母亲/照顾者，这些儿童在研究前4周内曾患常见儿童疾病。采用多阶段随机抽样技术选取研究参与者。数据由卫生推广工作者通过面对面访谈，使用结构化问卷收集。收集到的数据录入EpiData（3.02版），并导出到社会科学统计软件包（SPSS）（20版）进行分析。进行二元逻辑回归分析以确定与就医行为相关的因素。研究结果以表格、饼图、柱状图和叙述性文本呈现。
本研究共纳入459名母亲/照顾者，应答率达100%。在调查前4周内患常见儿童疾病的5岁以下儿童中，68%（95%CI：65 - 71.1%）在医疗机构寻求治疗。疾病感知严重程度（调整后比值比[AOR]=4.23，95%CI：2.27，7.88）、丈夫教育水平为中学及以上（AOR = 2.70，95%CI：1.29，5.64）以及属于最富裕家庭类别（AOR = 2.40，9%CI：1.06，5.44）被确定为母亲/照顾者就医行为的独立预测因素。
相当一部分受访者没有带生病的孩子去医疗机构就医。有必要对家庭进行教育，并提高社区对寻求医疗保健重要性的认识。
