Health care seeking behavior of parents with acute flaccid paralysis child

INTRODUCTION: Despite the tremendous increase in the number of modern health institutions, traditional medical practices still remain alternative places of health care service delivery and important sites for disease notification in the disease surveillance system. The objectives of this study are to describe the patterns and factors associated with health care seeking behavior of parents and care takers with acute flaccid paralysis child and see how the traditional practice affect the surveillance system. METHODS: A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted to assess the health seeking behavior of parents with an acute flaccid paralysis child. Data were collected throughout the country as a routine surveillance program. RESULTS: Of 1299 families analyzed, 907(69.3%) of families with AFP child first went to health institutions to seek medical care, while. 398 (30.7%) of parents took their child first to other traditional sites, including holy water sites (11.8%), traditional healers (9.1%) and prayer places (5.4%). Over half of the parents with AFP child reported practicing home measures before first seeking health service from modern health institutions. Home measures (OR, 0.1202, 95% CI 0.0804-0.1797), decision by relatives (OR, 0.5595, 95% CI 0.3665-0.8540) and More than 10km distance from health facility (OR, 0.5962, 95% CI, 0.4117-0.8634) were significantly associated to first seeking health service from health institutions (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: Program strategies must certainly be developed to expand and capture all traditional sites in the surveillance network, and intensify sensitization and active surveillance visit in these areas.