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Participation des hommes aux soins aux enfants avant la mise en oeuvre de la composante familiale et communautaire de la stratégie «prise en charge intégrée des maladies de l'enfant (PCIME) dans cinq districts d'appui de "Plan Togo


KS Koffi
E Azoumah
E Tsolenyanu
A Seidou
AD Agbere
DY Atakouma

Abstract

Aim : The purpose of this study was to assess the role played by the men in front of child illness before the implementation of the family and community component of the IMCI strategy in Togo.
Population and methods: it was a descriptive, cross-sectional study conducted from the 24th to the 29th July, 2006, simultaneously in five health districts of Togo, to 250 households, 211 people in charge of children, and 211 children aged 0-5 years. A survey by dusters was the method used.
Results: On 250 head of households surveyed, 87.2% were men, and 44.4% were illiterates. People in charge of the children were the men (41.7%), the women (58.3%). Forty six percent of the children concerned by the study had been sick in the four weeks preceding the survey. The main actions carried out by the people in charge of these sick children were the use of a health center or a health worker (52.6%), and the self-medication (40.2%). The sick children were conducted to health center by their fathers in 44% of the cases. The use of a health center was decided by the men in 58.3% of the cases. The care of children were paid by the men (88.3%), the women (11.7%). The search for money to pay for care, the search for roots and leaves in the bush to prepare herbal teas, and the administration of the medicine to the sick child constituted the main concrete actions carried out by the men. In the case of accident occurred in children, the decision of the therapeutic route came from the father in 71.4% of the cases, and the rugged child care expenses were paid by the father in 93% of the cases. The mosquito net under which slept the child eve was purchased by the father or other parent male in 27% of the cases, and the person to sleep the child under a mosquito net eve was the father in only 0.9% of the cases against 99.1% of the cases by the mother or other female relative.
Conclusion: The participation of men in the care of children is a reality in Togo, influenced by many disparities. Despite the cultural diversity that characterizes African societies, it is necessary to sensitize men in knowledge gained today on the impact of paternal engagement on the development of the child, and the need for a redefinition of the paternal role.

Keywords: Men participation, care for infants, IMCI, community, Togo

J. Rech. Sci. Univ. Lomé (Togo), 2012, Série D, 14(2) : 9-20

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eISSN: 2413-354X
print ISSN: 1727-8651