Health-seeking behaviour for infants by caregivers in a semi-urban area of Lagos State, Nigeria

Abstract

Background and Objective: Nigeria was unable to meet the Millennium Development Goal target for child mortality. Progress has been hampered by a host of factors which include poor maternal response to childhood illness and inappropriate health-seeking behaviours. This study was done to assess the health-seeking behaviours for infants by caregivers in Orile Agege Area. Materials and Methods: A community-based, descriptive, cross-sectional study using an interviewer-administered questionnaire was done among the caregivers of infants in Orile Agege Local Council Development Area. Three hundred and two caregivers were recruited using a multistaged sampling method. Analysis was done using SPSS. T-test and Chi-square were used to test for association among variables. Results: About half of the caregivers who said their infants had been sick in the study took the child for treatment within 24 h of the onset of the illness, most (40%) of them sought treatment from a health facility. The barriers to seeking healthcare at health facility that was mostly mentioned in this study were financial constraints (15.1%) and poor service (5.7%). Conclusion: Most of the caregivers in the area sought treatment outside the home for their infants when they were sick and they mostly patronised health facilities and health workers. About half of the respondents promptly sought healthcare for their infants in the case of their illness.