Ng'ambi, W;
Mangal, T;
Phillips, A;
Colbourn, T;
Mfutso-Bengo, J;
Revill, P;
Hallett, TB;
(2020)
Factors associated with healthcare seeking behaviour for children in Malawi: 2016.
Tropical Medicine & International Health
, 25
(12)
pp. 1486-1495.
10.1111/tmi.13499.
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Abstract
Objective: To characterise health seeking behaviour (HSB) and determine its predictors amongst children in Malawi in 2016. Methods: We used the 2016 Malawi Integrated Household Survey data set. The outcome of interest was HSB, defined as seeking care at a health facility amongst people who reported one or more of a list of possible symptoms given on the questionnaire in the past two weeks. We fitted a multivariate logistic regression model of HSB using a forward step-wise selection method, with age, sex and symptoms entered as a priori variables. Results: Of 5350 children, 1666 (32%) had symptoms in the past two weeks. Of the 1666, 1008 (61%) sought care at health facility. The children aged 5–14 years were less likely to be taken to health facilities for health care than those aged 0–4 years. Having fever vs. not having fever and having a skin problem vs. not having skin problem were associated with increased likelihood of HSB. Having a headache vs. not having a headache was associated with lower likelihood of accessing care at health facilities (AOR = 0.50, 95% CI: 0.26–0.96, P = 0.04). Children from urban areas were more likely to be taken to health facilities for health care (AOR = 1.81, 95% CI: 1.17–2.85, P = 0.008), as were children from households with a high wealth status (AOR = 1.86, 95% CI: 1.25–2.78, P = 0.02). Conclusion: There is a need to understand and address individual, socio-economic and geographical barriers to health seeking to increase access and use of health care and fast-track progress towards Universal Health Coverage.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Factors associated with healthcare seeking behaviour for children in Malawi: 2016 |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1111/tmi.13499 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.1111/tmi.13499 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | This version is the author accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions. |
| Keywords: | Tropical Medicine, Malawi, healthcare seeking behaviour, determinants of health |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > Institute for Global Health UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > Institute for Global Health > Infection and Population Health |
| URI: | https://discovery-pp.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10136729 |
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