Contributing factors of delay in seeking treatment for childhood diarrheal diseases in Berbere Woreda, Ethiopia: an unmatched case-control study

Mebratu Bekele; Megersso Urgessa; Kebede Kumsa; Edao Sinba

doi:10.1186/s41043-023-00411-4

Contributing factors of delay in seeking treatment for childhood diarrheal diseases in Berbere Woreda, Ethiopia: an unmatched case-control study

J Health Popul Nutr. 2023 Jul 10;42(1):65. doi: 10.1186/s41043-023-00411-4.

Authors

Mebratu Bekele¹, Megersso Urgessa², Kebede Kumsa³, Edao Sinba³

Affiliations

¹ Negelle Health Center, Negelle Town, West Arsi Zone, Ethiopia.
² Department of Public Health, School of Health Science, Shashemene Campus, Madda Walabu University, P.O.BOX: 238, Shashemene, Ethiopia. megurgessa@gmail.com.
³ Department of Public Health, School of Health Science, Shashemene Campus, Madda Walabu University, P.O.BOX: 238, Shashemene, Ethiopia.

Abstract

Background: A major cause of diarrheal illness mortality is a failure to seek immediate medical assistance. There is currently no evidence on the reasons that induce caregivers in Berbere Woreda to delayed seeking timely treatment for under-five children with diarrheal illnesses. As a result, the goal of this study was to identify determinants of delay in seeking timely treatment for childhood diarrheal diseases in Berbere Woreda, Bale Zone Oromia Region, South Eastern Ethiopia.

Methods: An unmatched case-control study on 418 child caregivers was conducted from April to May 2021. Cases were 209 children and their caregivers who sought treatment after 24 h of the onset of diarrheal disease symptoms, and controls were 209 children and their mothers/caregivers who sought treatment within 24 h of the onset of diarrheal disease symptoms. Data were collected through interviews and chart reviews using consecutive sampling. A multivariable logistic regression analysis was carried out, with variables with a P-value of 0.05 considered statistically significant. The Hosmer-Lemshow goodness of fit test was used to validate the model, and the variance inflation factor (VIF) was used to test for multi-collinearity.

Results: In this study, we found that among 418 participants, determinants of delay in seeking timely treatment for childhood diarrheal diseases included mothers with more than two under-five children (AOR = 2.23, 95% CI 1.21-4.11), Divorce (AOR = 2.62, 95% CI 1.087-2.76), age of children < 24 months (AOR = 1.597, 95%,CI (1.008-2.531), and preference for a government health facility for treatment (AOR = 2.56, 95% CI 1.51-4.34). Besides, the odds of mothers aged 25-34 years being two times more likely to delay seeking timely treatment for 5 children with diarrhea were 1.537 (0.560-4.213).

Conclusions: Age of children, age of mothers, number of children, preference of health facilities, and marital status were factors influencing the failure to seek treatment within 24 h of recognizing diarrhea in children under the age of five.

Keywords: Berbere Woreda; Caregivers; Childhood diarrhea; Delayed care seeking.

MeSH terms

Case-Control Studies
Child
Diarrhea* / therapy
Ethiopia / epidemiology
Government*
Health Facilities
Humans