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Determinantes del retraso en la búsqueda de cuidados para niños con fiebre en Uganda del Este
Author(s) -
Rutebemberwa Elizeus,
Kallander Karin,
Tomson Goran,
Peterson Stefan,
Pariyo George
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
tropical medicine and international health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.056
H-Index - 114
eISSN - 1365-3156
pISSN - 1360-2276
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-3156.2009.02237.x
Subject(s) - medicine , pallor , population , pediatrics , poverty , malaria , health care , family medicine , demography , environmental health , sociology , immunology , economics , economic growth
Summary Objective To explore factors associated with delay in seeking treatment outside the home for febrile children under five. Methods Using a pre‐tested structured questionnaire, all 9176 children below 5 years in Iganga–Mayuge Demographic Surveillance Site were enumerated. Caretakers of children who had been ill within the previous 2 weeks were asked about presenting symptoms, type of home treatment used, timing of seeking treatment and distance to provider. Children who sought care latest after one night were compared with those who sought care later. Results Those likely to delay came from the lowest socio‐economic quintile (OR 1.45; 95% CI 1.06–1.97) or had presented with pallor (OR 1.58; 95% CI 1.10–2.25). Children less likely to delay had gone to drug shops (OR 0.70; 95% CI 0.59–0.84) or community medicine distributors (CMDs) (OR 0.33; 95% CI 0.15–0.74), had presented with fast breathing (OR 0.75; 95% CI 0.60–0.87), used tepid sponging at home (OR 0.43; 95% CI 0.27–0.68), or perceived the distance to the provider to be short (OR 0.72; 95% CI 0.60–0.87). Conclusion Even in the presence of ‘free services’, poverty is associated with delay to seek care. Drug shops and CMDs may complement government efforts to deliver timely treatment. Health workers need to sensitize caretakers to take children for care promptly. Methods to elucidate time in population‐surveys in African settings need to be evaluated.