Article Sidebar
Published:
Mar 7, 2013Keywords:
Socio-demographic status febrile illnesses Tertiary Hospital
Article Details
Issue
Section
Articles
On acceptance, the copyright of a manuscript will be vested in the journal and publisher. Articles published in Afrimedic journal are distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License which allows for unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, for any non-commercial purpose, subject to proper citation of the original work.
Main Article Content
The Effect of Socio-demographic Status of Mother s on the Management of Febrile Illnesses Among Under-Fives that Presented in a Tertiary Hospital In South-east Nigeria: A Two-Year Review
Abstract
Background: Infant and child mortality rates due to febrile illnesses are high in resource poor countries especially in sub Saharan Africa. The World Health Organization estimates that seeking prompt and appropriate care could reduce child deaths due to acute respiratory infections, by 20%. There is high disease burden from febrile illnesses with malaria contributing 30-50% of outpatient burden and 35% of hospital admissions.
Objective: This is to measure the effect of sociodemographic status of mothers on the management of febrile illnesses in under-fives.
Methods: This is a 2-year retrospective survey. A proforma was used to retrieve information from the case notes of underfives who presented with febrile illness in a tertiary health institution in Anambra State from January 2006 to December 2008.
Results: Out of a total of 1000 under-fives that presented in the children's outpatient and children's emergency room in the institution during the study period, 400 had febrile illness with malaria accounting for (32.5%) 130 cases of the febrile conditions. Majority of the mothers, 50% (200) were between
the ages of 26 and 30 years, and 25%; (100) were illiterate
mothers. Fifty percent (200) were traders; 12.5% (50) artisans;
25% (100) were full time housewives, 12.5% (50) were civil
servants, while 25.0% (100) did not receive any form of formal
education.
Conclusion: The fourth Millennium Development Goal (MDG) is to reduce child and infant mortality in the world by two thirds by 2015. As such an understanding of the roles that socio-demographic factors play in improving health and health-seeking behavior is important for public health policy. Findings of this study will equip stakeholders with the necessary input for planning and implementation towards an effective child health care services delivery and attainment of the MDG 4.
Keywords: Socio-demographic status, febrile illnesses,
Tertiary Hospital.
Afrimedic Journal 2010; 1(1): 27-30
Objective: This is to measure the effect of sociodemographic status of mothers on the management of febrile illnesses in under-fives.
Methods: This is a 2-year retrospective survey. A proforma was used to retrieve information from the case notes of underfives who presented with febrile illness in a tertiary health institution in Anambra State from January 2006 to December 2008.
Results: Out of a total of 1000 under-fives that presented in the children's outpatient and children's emergency room in the institution during the study period, 400 had febrile illness with malaria accounting for (32.5%) 130 cases of the febrile conditions. Majority of the mothers, 50% (200) were between
the ages of 26 and 30 years, and 25%; (100) were illiterate
mothers. Fifty percent (200) were traders; 12.5% (50) artisans;
25% (100) were full time housewives, 12.5% (50) were civil
servants, while 25.0% (100) did not receive any form of formal
education.
Conclusion: The fourth Millennium Development Goal (MDG) is to reduce child and infant mortality in the world by two thirds by 2015. As such an understanding of the roles that socio-demographic factors play in improving health and health-seeking behavior is important for public health policy. Findings of this study will equip stakeholders with the necessary input for planning and implementation towards an effective child health care services delivery and attainment of the MDG 4.
Keywords: Socio-demographic status, febrile illnesses,
Tertiary Hospital.
Afrimedic Journal 2010; 1(1): 27-30
