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Health postservice readiness and use of preventive and curative services for suspected childhood pneumonia in Ethiopia: a cross-sectional study

Amare Tariku, Y. Berhane, A. Worku, G. Biks, L. Persson, Y. B. Okwaraji

BMJ Open, 2022

5,787 participants · 5 citations

Abstract

Objective Pneumonia is the single-leading cause of infectious disease deaths in children under-5. Despite this challenge, the utilisation of preventive and curative child health services remains low in Ethiopia. We investigated the association between health post service readiness and caregivers’ awareness of pneumonia services, care-seeking and utilisation of pneumonia-relevant immunisation in four Ethiopian regions. Design and setting This cross-sectional study was conducted in 52 districts of four regions of Ethiopia from December 2018 to February 2019. The health posts preparedness for sick child care was assessed using the WHO Health Service Availability and Readiness Assessment tool. Multilevel analyses were employed to examine the associations between health post readiness and household-level awareness and utilisation of services. Participants We included 165 health posts, 274 health extension workers (community health workers) and 4729 caregivers with 5787 children 2–59 months. Outcome measures Awareness of pneumonia treatment, care-seeking behaviour and coverage of pentavalent-3 immunisation. Results Only 62.8% of health posts were ready to provide sick child care services. One-quarter of caregivers were aware of pneumonia services, and 56.8% sought an appropriate care provider for suspected pneumonia. Nearly half (49.3%) of children (12–23 months) had received pentavalent-3 immunisation. General health post readiness was not associated with caregivers’ awareness of…

How strong is the evidence?

Evidence Hub reads this as a cross-sectional, done in people. Its evidence level is 4 of 5 (Low · observational). Observational designs can show an association but not prove cause. Reported size: 5,787 participants or records.

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