Article, Early Access,
Care seeking for childhood illnesses in rural Mtwara, south-east Tanzania: a mixed methods study
Affiliations
- [1] CSK Res Solut, Mtwara, Tanzania [NORA names: Tanzania; Africa];
- [2] Univ Oxford, Ctr Trop Med & Global Hlth, Nuffield Dept Med, Oxford, England [NORA names: United Kingdom; Europe, Non-EU; OECD];
- [3] Mahidol Univ, Fac Trop Med, Mahidol Oxford Trop Med Res Unit, Bangkok, Thailand [NORA names: Thailand; Asia, South];
- [4] Mahidol Univ, Fac Trop Med, Mahidol Oxford Trop Med Res Unit, Bangkok, Thailand [NORA names: Thailand; Asia, South];
- [5] Univ Philippines, Manila, Philippines [NORA names: Philippines; Asia, South];
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Abstract
Background: Care seeking was assessed in preparation for a study of the health impact of novel design houses in rural Mtwara, Tanzania. Methods: A total of 578 residents of 60 villages participated in this mixed-methods study from April to August 2020. Among them, 550 participated in a healthcare-seeking survey, 17 in in-depth interviews and 28 in key informant interviews. Results: The decision to seek care was based on symptom severity (95.4% [370]). Caregivers first visited non-allopathic healthcare providers or were treated at home, which led to delays in seeking care at healthcare facilities. More than one-third (36.0% [140]) of respondents took >12 h seeking care at healthcare facilities. The majority (73.0% [282]) visited healthcare facilities, whereas around one-fifth (21.0% [80]) sought care at drug stores. Treatment costs deterred respondents from visiting healthcare facilities (61.4% [338]). Only 10 (3.6%) of the households surveyed reported that they were covered by health insurance. Conclusions: Quality of care, related to institutional factors, impacts timely care seeking for childhood illnesses in Mtwara, Tanzania. Ensuring accessibility of facilities is therefore not sufficient.