Care seeking for childhood illnesses in rural Mtwara, south-east Tanzania: a mixed methods study.
child health
diarrhoea, health services
health services needs and demand
malaria
respiratory tract infections
Journal
Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
ISSN: 1878-3503
Titre abrégé: Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg
Pays: England
ID NLM: 7506129
Informations de publication
Date de publication:
03 May 2024
03 May 2024
Historique:
received:
10
10
2023
revised:
12
12
2023
accepted:
22
03
2024
medline:
3
5
2024
pubmed:
3
5
2024
entrez:
3
5
2024
Statut:
aheadofprint
Résumé
Care seeking was assessed in preparation for a study of the health impact of novel design houses in rural Mtwara, Tanzania. A total of 578 residents of 60 villages participated in this mixed-methods study from April to August 2020. Among them, 550 participated in a healthcare-seeking survey, 17 in in-depth interviews and 28 in key informant interviews. The decision to seek care was based on symptom severity (95.4% [370]). Caregivers first visited non-allopathic healthcare providers or were treated at home, which led to delays in seeking care at healthcare facilities. More than one-third (36.0% [140]) of respondents took >12 h seeking care at healthcare facilities. The majority (73.0% [282]) visited healthcare facilities, whereas around one-fifth (21.0% [80]) sought care at drug stores. Treatment costs deterred respondents from visiting healthcare facilities (61.4% [338]). Only 10 (3.6%) of the households surveyed reported that they were covered by health insurance. Quality of care, related to institutional factors, impacts timely care seeking for childhood illnesses in Mtwara, Tanzania. Ensuring accessibility of facilities is therefore not sufficient.
Sections du résumé
BACKGROUND
BACKGROUND
Care seeking was assessed in preparation for a study of the health impact of novel design houses in rural Mtwara, Tanzania.
METHODS
METHODS
A total of 578 residents of 60 villages participated in this mixed-methods study from April to August 2020. Among them, 550 participated in a healthcare-seeking survey, 17 in in-depth interviews and 28 in key informant interviews.
RESULTS
RESULTS
The decision to seek care was based on symptom severity (95.4% [370]). Caregivers first visited non-allopathic healthcare providers or were treated at home, which led to delays in seeking care at healthcare facilities. More than one-third (36.0% [140]) of respondents took >12 h seeking care at healthcare facilities. The majority (73.0% [282]) visited healthcare facilities, whereas around one-fifth (21.0% [80]) sought care at drug stores. Treatment costs deterred respondents from visiting healthcare facilities (61.4% [338]). Only 10 (3.6%) of the households surveyed reported that they were covered by health insurance.
CONCLUSIONS
CONCLUSIONS
Quality of care, related to institutional factors, impacts timely care seeking for childhood illnesses in Mtwara, Tanzania. Ensuring accessibility of facilities is therefore not sufficient.
Identifiants
pubmed: 38700078
pii: 7663808
doi: 10.1093/trstmh/trae022
pii:
doi:
Types de publication
Journal Article
Langues
eng
Sous-ensembles de citation
IM
Subventions
Organisme : Hanako Foundation
Informations de copyright
© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.