Science Journal of Public Health

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Maternal Perception and Care-Seeking Patterns for Childhood Febrile Illnesses in Rural Communities of Osun State, South-Western Nigeria

Received: 15 December 2014    Accepted: 27 December 2014    Published: 04 January 2015
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Abstract

Introduction: Febrile illnesses have been known to have considerable impact on childhood morbidity and mortality. Mothers are primary caregivers and are usually first to recognize illness in their children. Appropriate care-seeking behaviour of mothers could prevent significant number of child deaths and complications due to childhood illness. Objectives: To assess the perception and care-seeking behaviour of mothers of febrile under-five children in rural communities of Osun State. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out among mothers of febrile children presenting in rural primary health care facilities of Osun State using questionnaire survey. Focus group discussions (FGD) were also carried out among mother of under-fives. Two-hundred and forty mothers were selected using multistage sampling. FGD participant were purposively selected. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize information on socio-demographic characteristics of respondents, chi-square tests to determine association between variables and logistic regression to determine predictors of appropriate care-seeking behaviour. Result: Mean age of mothers 28.2(±7.7) years, majority of the mothers patronize patent medicine stores (39.2%) and traditional healers (22.9%) Appropriate care was sought by only 82 (34.2%). Mothers age <35years [AOR=3.1, (1.2-7.7)]; employment status [AOR= 4.4, (2.3-8.5)]; and perceived severity of illness [AOR= 2.5, (1.4-5.0)] were significant predictors of appropriate care-seeking behaviour. FGD reveals that misconceptions about febrile illnesses and traditional beliefs are prevalent in these areas. Conclusion: There is need to focus on interventions targeted towards addressing misconceptions about childhood febrile illnesses thus ensuring improvement in care-seeking behaviours of mothers. Training of patent medicine vendors may complement government effort in ensuring provision of appropriate health services in rural areas.

DOI 10.11648/j.sjph.20140206.32
Published in Science Journal of Public Health (Volume 2, Issue 6, November 2014)
Page(s) 636-643
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Mothers’ Perception, Care-Seeking, Under-Fives, Febrile Illnesses, Rural, Nigeria

References
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Author Information
  • Department. of Community Medicine, LAUTECH Teaching Hospital, Osogbo Osun State, Nigeria

  • Department of Community Medicine, College of Health Sciences, Faculty of Clinical Sciences, Osun State University, Osogbo Osun State, Nigeria

  • Department of Epidemiology and medical statistics, University of Ibadan, Oyo state, Nigeria

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    Adedire Elizabeth B., Asekun-Olarinmoye Esther O., Fawole O. (2015). Maternal Perception and Care-Seeking Patterns for Childhood Febrile Illnesses in Rural Communities of Osun State, South-Western Nigeria. Science Journal of Public Health, 2(6), 636-643. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.sjph.20140206.32

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    Adedire Elizabeth B.; Asekun-Olarinmoye Esther O.; Fawole O. Maternal Perception and Care-Seeking Patterns for Childhood Febrile Illnesses in Rural Communities of Osun State, South-Western Nigeria. Sci. J. Public Health 2015, 2(6), 636-643. doi: 10.11648/j.sjph.20140206.32

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    AMA Style

    Adedire Elizabeth B., Asekun-Olarinmoye Esther O., Fawole O. Maternal Perception and Care-Seeking Patterns for Childhood Febrile Illnesses in Rural Communities of Osun State, South-Western Nigeria. Sci J Public Health. 2015;2(6):636-643. doi: 10.11648/j.sjph.20140206.32

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  • @article{10.11648/j.sjph.20140206.32,
      author = {Adedire Elizabeth B. and Asekun-Olarinmoye Esther O. and Fawole O.},
      title = {Maternal Perception and Care-Seeking Patterns for Childhood Febrile Illnesses in Rural Communities of Osun State, South-Western Nigeria},
      journal = {Science Journal of Public Health},
      volume = {2},
      number = {6},
      pages = {636-643},
      doi = {10.11648/j.sjph.20140206.32},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.sjph.20140206.32},
      eprint = {https://download.sciencepg.com/pdf/10.11648.j.sjph.20140206.32},
      abstract = {Introduction: Febrile illnesses have been known to have considerable impact on childhood morbidity and mortality. Mothers are primary caregivers and are usually first to recognize illness in their children. Appropriate care-seeking behaviour of mothers could prevent significant number of child deaths and complications due to childhood illness. Objectives: To assess the perception and care-seeking behaviour of mothers of febrile under-five children in rural communities of Osun State. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out among mothers of febrile children presenting in rural primary health care facilities of Osun State using questionnaire survey. Focus group discussions (FGD) were also carried out among mother of under-fives. Two-hundred and forty mothers were selected using multistage sampling. FGD participant were purposively selected. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize information on socio-demographic characteristics of respondents, chi-square tests to determine association between variables and logistic regression to determine predictors of appropriate care-seeking behaviour.  Result: Mean age of mothers 28.2(±7.7) years, majority of the mothers patronize patent medicine stores (39.2%) and traditional healers (22.9%) Appropriate care was sought by only 82 (34.2%). Mothers age <35years [AOR=3.1, (1.2-7.7)]; employment status [AOR= 4.4, (2.3-8.5)]; and perceived severity of illness [AOR= 2.5, (1.4-5.0)] were significant predictors of appropriate care-seeking behaviour. FGD reveals that misconceptions about febrile illnesses and traditional beliefs are prevalent in these areas. Conclusion: There is need to focus on interventions targeted towards addressing misconceptions about childhood febrile illnesses thus ensuring improvement in care-seeking behaviours of mothers. Training of patent medicine vendors may complement government effort in ensuring provision of appropriate health services in rural areas.},
     year = {2015}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Maternal Perception and Care-Seeking Patterns for Childhood Febrile Illnesses in Rural Communities of Osun State, South-Western Nigeria
    AU  - Adedire Elizabeth B.
    AU  - Asekun-Olarinmoye Esther O.
    AU  - Fawole O.
    Y1  - 2015/01/04
    PY  - 2015
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.sjph.20140206.32
    DO  - 10.11648/j.sjph.20140206.32
    T2  - Science Journal of Public Health
    JF  - Science Journal of Public Health
    JO  - Science Journal of Public Health
    SP  - 636
    EP  - 643
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2328-7950
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.sjph.20140206.32
    AB  - Introduction: Febrile illnesses have been known to have considerable impact on childhood morbidity and mortality. Mothers are primary caregivers and are usually first to recognize illness in their children. Appropriate care-seeking behaviour of mothers could prevent significant number of child deaths and complications due to childhood illness. Objectives: To assess the perception and care-seeking behaviour of mothers of febrile under-five children in rural communities of Osun State. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out among mothers of febrile children presenting in rural primary health care facilities of Osun State using questionnaire survey. Focus group discussions (FGD) were also carried out among mother of under-fives. Two-hundred and forty mothers were selected using multistage sampling. FGD participant were purposively selected. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize information on socio-demographic characteristics of respondents, chi-square tests to determine association between variables and logistic regression to determine predictors of appropriate care-seeking behaviour.  Result: Mean age of mothers 28.2(±7.7) years, majority of the mothers patronize patent medicine stores (39.2%) and traditional healers (22.9%) Appropriate care was sought by only 82 (34.2%). Mothers age <35years [AOR=3.1, (1.2-7.7)]; employment status [AOR= 4.4, (2.3-8.5)]; and perceived severity of illness [AOR= 2.5, (1.4-5.0)] were significant predictors of appropriate care-seeking behaviour. FGD reveals that misconceptions about febrile illnesses and traditional beliefs are prevalent in these areas. Conclusion: There is need to focus on interventions targeted towards addressing misconceptions about childhood febrile illnesses thus ensuring improvement in care-seeking behaviours of mothers. Training of patent medicine vendors may complement government effort in ensuring provision of appropriate health services in rural areas.
    VL  - 2
    IS  - 6
    ER  - 

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