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Delay in healthcare seeking for young children with severe pneumonia at Mulago National Referral Hospital, Uganda: A mixed methods cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND: Globally, pneumonia is the leading infectious cause of under-five mortality, and this can be reduced by prompt healthcare seeking. Data on factors associated with delays in seeking care for children with pneumonia in Uganda is scarce. OBJECTIVES: The study aimed to determine the prevalen...

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Autores principales: Ekyaruhanga, Phiona, Nantanda, Rebecca, Aanyu, Hellen T., Mukisa, John, Ssemasaazi, Judith Amutuhaire, John, Mukeere, Aceng, Palma, Rujumba, Joseph
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Public Library of Science 2023
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10564236/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37816023
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0291387
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author Ekyaruhanga, Phiona
Nantanda, Rebecca
Aanyu, Hellen T.
Mukisa, John
Ssemasaazi, Judith Amutuhaire
John, Mukeere
Aceng, Palma
Rujumba, Joseph
author_facet Ekyaruhanga, Phiona
Nantanda, Rebecca
Aanyu, Hellen T.
Mukisa, John
Ssemasaazi, Judith Amutuhaire
John, Mukeere
Aceng, Palma
Rujumba, Joseph
author_sort Ekyaruhanga, Phiona
collection PubMed
description BACKGROUND: Globally, pneumonia is the leading infectious cause of under-five mortality, and this can be reduced by prompt healthcare seeking. Data on factors associated with delays in seeking care for children with pneumonia in Uganda is scarce. OBJECTIVES: The study aimed to determine the prevalence, factors associated with delay, barriers, and facilitators of prompt healthcare seeking for children under five years of age with severe pneumonia attending Mulago National Referral Hospital (MNRH) Uganda. METHODS: A mixed methods cross-sectional study was conducted among 384 caregivers of children with severe pneumonia at MNRH. Quantitative data was collected using interviewer-administered structured questionnaires and qualitative data through focus group discussions with caregivers. Descriptive statistics were used to determine the prevalence of delay in care seeking. Logistic regression analysis was used to determine the factors that were independently associated with delay in seeking healthcare. Content thematic analysis was used to analyze for barriers and facilitators of prompt healthcare seeking. RESULTS: The prevalence of delay in seeking healthcare was 53.6% (95% CI: 48.6–58.6). Long distance to a hospital (AOR = 1.94, 95% CI 1.22–3.01, p value = 0.003), first seeking care elsewhere (AOR = 3.33, 95% CI 1.85–6.01, p value = 0.001), and monthly income ≤100,000 UGX (28 USD) (AOR = 2.27,95% CI 1.33–3.86, p value = 0.003) were independently associated with delay in seeking healthcare. Limited knowledge of symptoms, delayed referrals, self-medication, and low level of education were barriers to prompt healthcare seeking while recognition of symptoms of severe illness in the child, support from spouses, and availability of money for transport were key facilitators of early healthcare seeking. CONCLUSION: This study showed that more than half of the caregivers delayed seeking healthcare for their children with pneumonia symptoms. Caregivers who first sought care elsewhere, lived more than 5 km from the hospital, and earned less than 28 USD per month were more likely to delay seeking healthcare for their children with severe pneumonia. Limited knowledge of symptoms of pneumonia, self-medication, and delayed referral hindered prompt care-seeking. Key facilitators of prompt care-seeking were accessibility to health workers, support from spouses, and recognition of symptoms of severe illness in children. There is a need for programs that educate caregivers about pneumonia symptoms, in children less than five years.
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spelling pubmed-105642362023-10-11 Delay in healthcare seeking for young children with severe pneumonia at Mulago National Referral Hospital, Uganda: A mixed methods cross-sectional study Ekyaruhanga, Phiona Nantanda, Rebecca Aanyu, Hellen T. Mukisa, John Ssemasaazi, Judith Amutuhaire John, Mukeere Aceng, Palma Rujumba, Joseph PLoS One Research Article BACKGROUND: Globally, pneumonia is the leading infectious cause of under-five mortality, and this can be reduced by prompt healthcare seeking. Data on factors associated with delays in seeking care for children with pneumonia in Uganda is scarce. OBJECTIVES: The study aimed to determine the prevalence, factors associated with delay, barriers, and facilitators of prompt healthcare seeking for children under five years of age with severe pneumonia attending Mulago National Referral Hospital (MNRH) Uganda. METHODS: A mixed methods cross-sectional study was conducted among 384 caregivers of children with severe pneumonia at MNRH. Quantitative data was collected using interviewer-administered structured questionnaires and qualitative data through focus group discussions with caregivers. Descriptive statistics were used to determine the prevalence of delay in care seeking. Logistic regression analysis was used to determine the factors that were independently associated with delay in seeking healthcare. Content thematic analysis was used to analyze for barriers and facilitators of prompt healthcare seeking. RESULTS: The prevalence of delay in seeking healthcare was 53.6% (95% CI: 48.6–58.6). Long distance to a hospital (AOR = 1.94, 95% CI 1.22–3.01, p value = 0.003), first seeking care elsewhere (AOR = 3.33, 95% CI 1.85–6.01, p value = 0.001), and monthly income ≤100,000 UGX (28 USD) (AOR = 2.27,95% CI 1.33–3.86, p value = 0.003) were independently associated with delay in seeking healthcare. Limited knowledge of symptoms, delayed referrals, self-medication, and low level of education were barriers to prompt healthcare seeking while recognition of symptoms of severe illness in the child, support from spouses, and availability of money for transport were key facilitators of early healthcare seeking. CONCLUSION: This study showed that more than half of the caregivers delayed seeking healthcare for their children with pneumonia symptoms. Caregivers who first sought care elsewhere, lived more than 5 km from the hospital, and earned less than 28 USD per month were more likely to delay seeking healthcare for their children with severe pneumonia. Limited knowledge of symptoms of pneumonia, self-medication, and delayed referral hindered prompt care-seeking. Key facilitators of prompt care-seeking were accessibility to health workers, support from spouses, and recognition of symptoms of severe illness in children. There is a need for programs that educate caregivers about pneumonia symptoms, in children less than five years. Public Library of Science 2023-10-10 /pmc/articles/PMC10564236/ /pubmed/37816023 http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0291387 Text en © 2023 Ekyaruhanga et al https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) , which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
spellingShingle Research Article
Ekyaruhanga, Phiona
Nantanda, Rebecca
Aanyu, Hellen T.
Mukisa, John
Ssemasaazi, Judith Amutuhaire
John, Mukeere
Aceng, Palma
Rujumba, Joseph
Delay in healthcare seeking for young children with severe pneumonia at Mulago National Referral Hospital, Uganda: A mixed methods cross-sectional study
title Delay in healthcare seeking for young children with severe pneumonia at Mulago National Referral Hospital, Uganda: A mixed methods cross-sectional study
title_full Delay in healthcare seeking for young children with severe pneumonia at Mulago National Referral Hospital, Uganda: A mixed methods cross-sectional study
title_fullStr Delay in healthcare seeking for young children with severe pneumonia at Mulago National Referral Hospital, Uganda: A mixed methods cross-sectional study
title_full_unstemmed Delay in healthcare seeking for young children with severe pneumonia at Mulago National Referral Hospital, Uganda: A mixed methods cross-sectional study
title_short Delay in healthcare seeking for young children with severe pneumonia at Mulago National Referral Hospital, Uganda: A mixed methods cross-sectional study
title_sort delay in healthcare seeking for young children with severe pneumonia at mulago national referral hospital, uganda: a mixed methods cross-sectional study
topic Research Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10564236/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37816023
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0291387
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