Determinants of delay in malaria treatment-seeking behaviour for under-five children in south-west Ethiopia: a case control study

Abstract

BackgroundPrompt diagnosis and timely treatment of malaria within 24 hours after onset of first symptoms can reduce illness progression to severe stages and therefore, decrease mortality. The reason why mothers/caretakers delay in malaria diagnosis and treatment for under-five children is not well studied in Ethiopia. The objective of this study was to assess determinants of malaria treatment delay in under-five children in three districts of south-west Ethiopia.MethodsA case control study was conducted from March 15 to April 20, 2010. Cases were under-five children who had clinical malaria and sought treatment after 24 hours of developing sign and symptom, and controls were under-five children who had clinical malaria and sought treatment within 24 hours of developing sign and symptom of malaria. Data were collected by trained enumerators using structured questionnaire. Data were entered in to Epi Info version 6.04 and analyzed using SPSS version 16.0. To identify determinants, multiple logistic regression was done.ResultsA total of 155 mothers of cases and 155 mothers of controls were interviewed. Mothers of children who were in a monogamous marriage (OR = 3.41, 95% CI: 1.39, 8.34), who complained about the side effects of anti-malarial drugs (OR = 4.96, 95% CI: 1.21, 20.36), who had no history of child death (OR = 3.50, 95% CI: 1.82, 6.42) and who complained about the higher cost of transportation to reach the health institutions (OR = 2.01, 95% CI: 1.17, 3.45) were more likely to be late for the treatment of malaria in under-five children.ConclusionEffective malaria control programmes should address reducing delayed presentation of children for treatment. Efforts to reduce delay should address transport cost, decentralization of services and increasing awareness of the community on early diagnosis and treatment.

Caregivers’ perception of malaria and treatment-seeking behaviour for under five children in Mandura District, West Ethiopia: a cross-sectional study

“…Some other studies highlighted that knowledge about malaria symptoms may not be enough to explain prompt and adequate care seeking alone [17, 19, 41, 42]. The current finding is consistent with a previous study that reported malaria knowledge could improve malaria health related behaviours independent of other factors [19].…”

Malaria treatment-seeking behaviour and related factors of Wa ethnic minority in Myanmar: a cross-sectional study

“…In this study, 96.7% (357/369) of respondents were illiterate. Studies carried out in Ethiopia [19] and southern Ghana [20] showed that knowledge of respondents is not associated with malaria treatment-seeking [19]. Knowledge itself is not equal to behaviour.…”

Preventing Malaria among Under Five Children in Damot Gale Woreda, Wolayta Zone, Ethiopia: The Role of Parents Knowledge and Treatment Seeking

“…Delayed malaria treatment-seeking behavior in under five children in Ethiopia has been reported to be associated with poor knowledge regarding the disease, socio-economic factors and traditional home management practices at home [9][10][11][12]. However, there were no known prior studies pertaining to knowledge practice of malaria prevention, treatmentseeking for under five children and associated factors at community level in South Ethiopia.…”