Health care-seeking behaviour for child illnesses in sub-Saharan Africa: a cross-national comparison

Channon, A.R. (2008) Health care-seeking behaviour for child illnesses in sub-Saharan Africa: a cross-national comparison. British Society of Population Studies (BSPS 2008), Manchester, UK. 10 - 12 Sep 2008. (Submitted)

Record type: Conference or Workshop Item (Paper)

Abstract

The aim of this research is to study the levels, trends and patterns of health care seeking behaviour reported when a child is ill in sub-Saharan Africa. Using selected Demographic and Health Surveys in this region which asked the required questions on child health and health care behaviour the proportions of infants who received medical treatment will be calculated. The location where the care is received, focusing on public or private facilities, will also be studied. Simple cross-tabulations will be used to analyse whether there are differences in health care seeking behaviours between place of residence, wealth quintiles and other variables where inequalities may occur.
For countries with more than one DHS survey the trends related to child health care will be assessed. These trends will be considered in the context of the changing health systems in these countries and changes in equity between wealth groups. It will be observed if growing inequity is related to alterations in health seeking behaviour.
Initial results indicate great variation between countries in the proportion of infants with a fever or diarrhoea where care is sought. There is also a large variation in the percentage of infants for which medical treatment is obtained. Over time, it is seen that even though the percentage of infants obtaining care is increasing, this is mainly driven by care obtained from a pharmacy or a shop, potentially indicating a fall in the quality of care.

This record has no associated files available for download.