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Any health condition that affects the mother will affect the child. To ensure the health of the mothers are protected, the mother must ensure to see she has positive healthcare-seeking behaviour in terms of receiving health services during pregnancy, labour, delivery, and post-delivery services. Mothers should avail themselves of such services on regular basis to protect themselves from becoming ill and probably dying (Agatha Ogunkorode et al., 2021). Studies have shown that providing formal education to and ensuring that women are taught about the negative outcomes associated with pregnancy due to inappropriate healthcare-seeking behaviour, will increase utilization of health services (Kifle et al., 2017). However, it has also been noted that as the woman increases the number of births, then the lower the usage of healthcare services. Hence the reason Kifle et al. suggested increasing formal education opportunities of this vulnerable group (Kifle et al., 2017).
Maternal health is a matter of public health concern, because of the increased death rate associated with women of reproductive age, especially in developing countries. Estimation shows that about 800 women die because of diseases that can be prevented during pregnancy and childbirth (Akeju et al., 2016). Studies have shown that this is a result of inappropriate healthcare-seeking behaviour, and high rates of traditional birth attendants (Kifle et al., 2017). Therefore, utilizing maternal healthcare services would have protected the lives of millions of women from becoming very sick and dying.
Another vulnerable group in our society is children. The child mortality rate is used as an indicator in measuring the health systems of different countries. In the past years, over 5.4 million children under the age of five die every year, and about half of the deaths occur in Africa (Mohammed Khalil et al., 2019). These deaths could have been prevented if adequate healthcare-seeking behaviour were adopted by mothers of these children in developing countries (Mohammed Khalil et al., 2019). In Sudan, infant morbidity and mortality were high due to increased levels of infectious diseases and malnutrition (Mohammed Khalil et al., 2019). Other causes of diseases in developing nations include malaria, pneumonia, diarrhoea, malnutrition, and many others (Sarker et al., 2016).
Healthcare seeking behaviour is any action humans undertake to find solutions for their healthcare. The level of healthcare-seeking behaviour among individuals, can be utilized in measuring the utilization of healthcare services at the community level (Morgan et al., 2017). Notable factors that affect healthcare-seeking behaviour include educational factors, economic factors, cultural factors, knowledge about healthcare facilities, socio-demographic factors, sex and health system status of a nation (Ng’ambi et al., 2020).
Public health organizations such as World Health Organization (WHO) and United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) have simultaneously contributed to the development of a strategy named Integrated Management of Childhood Illness (Mohammed Khalil et al., 2019). This strategy was to enable developing countries to improve their health systems as well as reduce children and infant mortality rates (Mohammed Khalil et al., 2019). Mohammed Khalil et al. reported that to help actualize appropriate healthcare-seeking behaviour, that will enable reduce children and infant mortality, it is important for healthcare workers to partner with individual families and to get support from the communities (Mohammed Khalil et al., 2019).
Healthcare-seeking behaviour is greatly affected by economic power or the financial status of a family, for example, Ng’ambi et al. explained that individuals who came from high-income families have more access to healthcare than when compared to individuals who came from poor backgrounds (Ng’ambi et al., 2020). Therefore, it is necessary to study the prevalent factors affecting maternal and child healthcare-seeking behaviour, in a developing nation.
Healthcare-seeking behaviour is important because, the level of healthcare-seeking behaviour among individuals can be used to measure the utilization of healthcare services at the community level (Morgan et al., 2017). Maternal health is a matter of public health concern, because of the increased death rate associated with women of reproductive age, especially in developing countries. Estimation shows that about 800 women die because of diseases that can be prevented during pregnancy and childbirth (Akeju et al., 2016). The child mortality rate is used as an indicator in measuring the health systems of different countries and over 5.4 million children under the age of five die every year, and almost all of the deaths occur in developing nations (Mohammed Khalil et al., 2019). Studies have shown that providing formal education to, and ensuring that women are taught about the negative outcomes associated with pregnancy due to inappropriate healthcare-seeking behaviour, will increase utilization of health services (Kifle et al., 2017). Therefore, it is very important to investigate the prevalent factors affecting maternal and child healthcare-seeking behaviour in a developing nation
Many studies have reported some of the factors that affect healthcare-seeking behaviour. Such factors include educational factors, economic factors, cultural factors, knowledge about healthcare facilities, socio-demographic factors, sex and health system status of a nation (Ng’ambi et al., 2020). Maternal and child morbidity and mortality rates are rising every day (Akeju et al., 2016). Several studies have focused on some factors that affect healthcare-seeking behaviour, but none has studied the prevalent factors that affect healthcare-seeking behaviour. Therefore, it is necessary to study the prevalent factors affecting maternal and child healthcare-seeking behaviour, in a developing nation
This will be a cross-sectional study among pregnant women and mothers (and children) in some selected communities in a developing country. A pretested structured questionnaire will be used to collect all relevant information using simple random sampling.
Collected data from the questionnaire will be entered into SPSS version 20 for analysis. Adjusted odds ratios (OR) with a 95% confidence interval will be used to assess statistically significant variables (p<0.05).
The risk assessment conducted for this project is provided in the table below:
Table 1: Risk assessment
Risk
Impact
Mitigation Plan
Inability to meet the deadline
Low
Get an extension from the supervisor in due time
Inability to get required process inputs, skill, and manpower
Moderate
Refer to municipalities and research institutes for help
Inability to properly develop the process set up
High
Refer to your supervisor for help
Insufficient data
Refer to journals and textbooks for help
Table 2: Project Plan
Task Name
Start Date
End Date
Duration (Days)
Initial Research
15/01/2022
29/01/2022
14
Proposal
06/02/2022
21
Introduction Chapter
18/03/2022
23/03/2022
5
Literature Review Chapter
20/04/2022
24
Methodology Chapter
02/05/2022
12
Presentation 1
02/07/2022
10/07/2022
8
Analysis
24/07/2022
Evaluation of Gotten Results
01/08/2022
7
Discussion Chapter
11/08/2022
10
Evaluation Chapter
16/08/2022
Conclusion Chapter
18/08/2022
2
Project Management Chapter
20/08/2022
Abstract and Report compilation
22/08/2022
Report Proofreading
01/09/2022
Presentation 2
11/09/2022
REFERENCES
Agatha Ogunkorode, R. S., Holtslander, L., Ferguson, L., Maree, J. E., Anonson, J., & Ramsden, V. R. (2021). Factors influencing the health-seeking behaviours of women with advanced stages of breast cancer in Southwestern Nigeria: An interpretive description study. International Journal of Africa Nursing Sciences, 14. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijans.2020.100273
Akeju, D. O., Oladapo, O. T., Vidler, M., Akinmade, A. A., Sawchuck, D., Qureshi, R., Solarin, M., Adetoro, O. O., & von Dadelszen, P. (2016). Determinants of health care seeking behaviour during pregnancy in Ogun State, Nigeria. Reproductive Health, 13(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12978-016-0139-7
Kifle, D., Azale, T., Gelaw, Y. A., & Melsew, Y. A. (2017). Maternal health care service seeking behaviours and associated factors among women in rural Haramaya District, Eastern Ethiopia: a triangulated community-based cross-sectional study. Reproductive Health, 14(1), 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12978-016-0270-5
Mohammed Khalil, M., Mohamed Malik, E., Mohamed Ali Alnair, N., & Ismail Mohamed Abu, I. (2019). Factors Affecting Health Seeking Behaviors Among Mothers of Under Five Children Attending Primary Health Care Centers, Sudan. Science Journal of Public Health, 7(6), 181. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.sjph.20190706.11
Morgan, R., Tetui, M., Kananura, R. M., Ekirapa-Kiracho, E., & George, A. S. (2017). Gender dynamics affecting maternal health and health care access and use in Uganda. Health Policy and Planning, 32, v13–v21. https://doi.org/10.1093/heapol/czx011
Ng’ambi, W., Mangal, T., Phillips, A., Colbourn, T., Mfutso-Bengo, J., Revill, P., & Hallett, T. B. (2020). Factors associated with healthcare-seeking behaviour for children in Malawi: 2016. Tropical Medicine and International Health, 25(12), 1486–1495. https://doi.org/10.1111/tmi.13499
Sarker, A. R., Sultana, M., Mahmud, R. A., Sheikh, N., van der Meer, R., & Morton, A. (2016). Prevalence and Health Care–Seeking Behavior for Childhood Diarrheal Disease in Bangladesh. Global Pediatric Health, 3, 2333794X1668090. https://doi.org/10.1177/2333794x16680901
Last updated: Feb 11, 2022 10:42 AM
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