Children and medicines: self-treatment of common illnesses among Luo schoolchildren in western Kenya

Geissler, Paul Wenzel; Nokes, Kate; Prince, Ruth J.; Odhiambo, Rachael; Aagaard‐Hansen, Jens; Ouma, John H.

doi:10.1016/s0277-9536(99)00428-1

Cited by 144 publications

(128 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…In contrast to Geissler et al's (2000) findings from Kenya, gender has no discernible effect on Ghanaian children's health-seeking behaviour. Age, however, is very influential: 15-to-17-years-olds were far more likely to seek healthcare independently than younger children (Table 3).…”

Section: Personal Attributes: Age and Gendercontrasting

confidence: 94%

“…body pains, mild fever, stomach upsets), children/adolescents are often expected to take responsibility for seeking healthcare. Like their East African counterparts (Geissler et al, 2000;, most young people interviewed were very knowledgeable about common infectious diseases, their aetiologies, and various treatment options. A quarter (25.6%) had visited health facilities unaccompanied by an adult (most recent visit).…”

Section: Health-seeking Practices and Agencymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Children and medicines 'It is generally assumed that children and medicines should be kept apart' (Geissler et al, 2000(Geissler et al, :1772. The dominant view within Western biomedicine is that children are vulnerable and in need of adult protection, while medicines are powerful, dangerous and should be controlled by experts (Geissler et al 2001:363;Van der Geest, 1999:255).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Important work by Geissler and colleagues (Geissler et al, 2000; indicates that school-aged children in Kenya and Uganda take considerable responsibility for their own healthcare. Geissler et al (2000) found that Kenyan schoolchildren (aged 11-17y) accessed numerous healthcare options, including cheap pharmaceuticals from local shops, herbal practitioners, and medicines stored at home. Only a quarter of illnesses were reported to adults, while 14% sought treatment themselves.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Children generally have fewer economic resources at their disposal than adults; in poor communities in particular this can severely constrain their effective treatment-seeking options. Young people's selfmedication, based typically on limited knowledge and funds, can lead to misuse of pharmaceuticals, which can be highly toxic taken incorrectly (in excessive doses, too frequently, or in combination with other drugs), while under-dosage can lead to pathogen resistance (Geissler et al, 2000;Van der Geest, 1999;Abuya et al, 2007). Geissler et al (2001:363) portray Kenyan schoolchildren as 'competent agents in a pluralistic medical field, mov [ing] actively between different medical traditions, including local herbal and hospital medicines.'…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Out of the reach of children? Young people’s health-seeking practices and agency in Africa’s newly-emerging therapeutic landscapes

Hampshire¹,

Porter²,

Owusu³

et al. 2011

Social Science & Medicine

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Publisher's copyright statement: NOTICE: this is the author's version of a work that was accepted for publication in Social science medicine. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be re ected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. A de nitive version was subsequently published in Social science medicine, 73/5, 2011, 10.1016/j.socscimed.2011.06.035 Additional information: Use policyThe full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-pro t purposes provided that:• a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in DRO • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders.Please consult the full DRO policy for further details. OUT OF THE REACH OF CHILDREN? YOUNG PEOPLE'S HEALTH-SEEKING AGENCY IN AFRICA'S NEWLY-EMERGING THERAPEUTIC LANDSCAPES AbstractDespite a dominant view within Western biomedicine that children and medicines should be kept apart, a growing literature suggests that children and adolescents (in both Western and developing-country contexts) often take active roles in healthseeking. Here, we consider young people's health-seeking practices in Ghana: a country with a rapidly changing therapeutic landscape, characterised by the recent introduction of health insurance, mass advertising of medicines, and increased use of mobile phones. Qualitative and quantitative data are presented from eight field-sites in urban and rural Ghana, including 131 individual interviews, focus groups, plus a questionnaire survey of 1005 9-to-17-year-olds. We show that many young people take active responsibility for their own (and others') healthcare. However, there is substantial variation in healthseeking practices and associated agency; these processes are shaped by (and also shape) resources available, including economic, social, cultural, psychological, informational and locational forms of capital. Dynamic interactions between resources and healthseeking agency operate within a wider, rapidly-changing therapeutic landscape, which has opened access to a greater range of healthcare possibilities. We conclude by considering implications for health and wellbeing, and suggest possible interventions for facilitating young people to seek healthcare safely and effectively.

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Section: Personal Attributes: Age and Gendercontrasting

confidence: 94%

Section: Health-seeking Practices and Agencymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Out of the reach of children? Young people’s health-seeking practices and agency in Africa’s newly-emerging therapeutic landscapes

Hampshire¹,

Porter²,

Owusu³

et al. 2011

Social Science & Medicine

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Caregiving, gender, and nutritional status in Nyanza Province, Kenya: Grandmothers gain, grandfathers lose

Ice¹,

Heh²,

Yogo³

et al. 2011

American J Hum Biol

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The beneficial impact on grandmothers might indicate a coping strategy. These results indicated that researchers should shift away from comparing caregivers to noncaregivers and instead look at the multiple factors which may make some families resilient and others at risk. Human biologists can contribute to this literature by examining the ecological and cultural contexts under which caregiving represents a burden with physiological repercussions.

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Selective inhibitory effects of suberosin on CYP1A2 in human liver microsomes

Paudel

Lee

et al. 2023

Biopharm & Drug Disp

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Suberosin is a natural phytoconstituent isolated from Citropsis articulata, especially employed for its anticoagulant properties. Although metabolic studies assessing suberosin have been conducted, it is possible interactions with drugs and food have not yet been investigated. In the present study, we analyzed the selective inhibitory effects of suberosin on cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzymes using a cocktail probe assay. Various concentrations of suberosin (0–50 μM) were incubated with isoform‐specific CYP probes in human liver microsomes (HLMs). We found that suberosin significantly inhibited CYP1A2‐catalyzed phenacetin O‐deethylation, exhibiting IC50 values of 9.39 ± 2.05 and 3.07 ± 0.45 μM with and without preincubation in the presence of β‐NADPH, respectively. Moreover, suberosin showed concentration‐dependent, but not time‐dependent, CYP1A2 inhibition in HLMs, indicating that suberosin acts as a substrate and reversible CYP1A2 inhibitor. Using a Lineweaver‐Burk plot, we found that suberosin competitively inhibited CYP1A2‐catalyzed phenacetin O‐deethylation. Furthermore, suberosin showed similar inhibitory effects on recombinant human CYP1A1 and 1A2. In conclusion, suberosin may elicit herb–drug interactions by selectively inhibiting CYP1A2 during the concurrent administration of drugs that act as CYP1A2 substrates.

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Children and medicines: self-treatment of common illnesses among Luo schoolchildren in western Kenya

Cited by 144 publications

References 16 publications

Out of the reach of children? Young people’s health-seeking practices and agency in Africa’s newly-emerging therapeutic landscapes

Out of the reach of children? Young people’s health-seeking practices and agency in Africa’s newly-emerging therapeutic landscapes

Caregiving, gender, and nutritional status in Nyanza Province, Kenya: Grandmothers gain, grandfathers lose

Selective inhibitory effects of suberosin on CYP1A2 in human liver microsomes

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