Attitude and health-seeking behaviour of caregivers in the management of pneumonia in children less than 5 years in Kaduna State, Nigeria

Abstract

The role of caregivers in the successful management and prevention of pneumonia in under-five children goes beyond having the requisite knowledge, it also importantly depends on their attitude and health-seeking behaviour.

The study determined the attitude and health-seeking behaviour of caregivers towards management of pneumonia in under-5 children in selected communities in Kaduna State Nigeria.

The mixed method research approach used 500 caregivers of under-5 children in urban and rural communities in Kaduna state. Ethical approval and informed consent of participants was obtained before data was collected using a pre-tested semi-structured questionnaire and a focus group discussion guide. Chi-square statistical test was used to test for association between variables, while data from the focus group discussion was analyzed using thematic coding process.

The respondents,198 (39.6%) of them in this study strongly agree that pneumonia is a highly dangerous disease in under-five children. Most respondents had fair health seeking behaviour 236 (47.2%). Good health-seeking behaviour was significantly more among the high-income earners and caregivers with higher educational level (p<0.01).

Community attributes and household resources were identified as vaccine hesitancy by caregivers of under-5 children towards the management of pneumonia. Provision of good information to caregivers on benefits of proper management of pneumonia may also improve health seeking behaviour.

Keywords: Pneumonia, Caregivers, Under-5 children, Attitude, Health-seeking behaviour