Utilisation of Children Emergency Services in a Semi-urban Nigerian Tertiary Health Facility

Abstract

Background: Children's emergency services are still evolving in Nigeria. The description of the attributes of children attending Children Emergency Services in Nigeria is yet to be extensively studied in recent times. This can guide resource allocation and help develop health policies that advance children's emergency care.

Objective: To review the profile of children patronising children’s emergency services in a tertiary health institution in a semi-urban setting in Nigeria.

Methods: The study was a descriptive, cross-sectional survey among seventy-five caregiver-child pairs attending the children's emergency room of Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital, Sagamu, Nigeria.

Results: The mean age of the parents was 39.76±9.21 years and 33.47±8.11 years for the fathers and mothers, respectively. About two-thirds (65.4%) of the children were aged five years and below with male preponderance (69.3%). The highest educational level reported was secondary among 53.3% of the fathers and 42.7% of the mothers. Sixty-eight per cent (68%) of the children came on self-referral. Fever was the most common presenting complaint (72.0%) and paracetamol was the most commonly used medication as home remedy (21.3%).  

Conclusion: Most children utilising emergency services arrived at the facility on self-referral. There is a need for increased advocacy to ensure that the referral systems effectively function in referring patients to tertiary facilities from either primary health or secondary facilities.