Pre-facility management of childhood illnesses: the experience in Alimosho Local Government Area of Lagos State, Nigeria 2020; 4(3): 32-42
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Date
2020
Authors
Duke, E.S.
Ezenwa, B.N.
Roberts, A.A.
Ekanem, E.E.
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Niger Delta Medical Journal
Abstract
Background: The health of children is a global priority, linked to the care given in illness. Prompt and early care must start at home to avert death. There are limited studies on pre-facility management practices of childhood illnesses by care-givers in Nigeria.
Objective: To assess the pre-facility treatment practices employed by mothers in response to common childhood illnesses in under-five children in Alimosho Local Government Area(LGA) of Lagos State, Nigeria.
Methods: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study carried out among 360 mothers of Under-five children in Alimosho LGA between March and May 2016. The respondents were selected using multi-stage sampling method. Structured interviewer-administered questionnaires were used for data collection. SPSS version 20.0 was used for data analysis and presented as frequencies and means; bivariate analysis was used to determine significant associations.
Results: The mean maternal age was 32.69 ± 6.46 years. Only 36.7% of the mothers attained tertiary education. Majority of the respondents carried out appropriate practices concerning fever 222 (74.2%), diarrhea 176 (63.8%) and vomiting 138 (52.9%) while 102 (39.5%) of the mothers employed inappropriate actions in response to convulsion. Majority of the respondents had a positive attitude towards childhood illnesses 195 (54.2%) versus 165 (45.8%). There was a statistically significant association between respondents' level of education and attitude with good health-seeking behavior in 335 (93%) of them.
Conclusion: This study demonstrates that most mothers portrayed appropriate home management practices concerning some childhood illnesses with positive attitude and good health-seeking behavior.
Description
Scholarly article
Keywords
Home treatment practices , Mothers , Under-five children , Nigeria , Research Subject Categories::MEDICINE
Citation
Duke ES, Ezenwa BN, ROBERTS AA, Ekanem EE. Pre-facility management of childhood illnesses: the experience in Alimosho Local Government Area of Lagos State, Nigeria Nig Del Med J 2020; 4(3): 32-42