Health Care Seeking Behavior among Caregivers of Sick Children Who Had Cerebral Malaria in Northwestern Nigeria

Cerebral malaria is a significant cause of childhood morbidity in our region. The challenges of effective management include time and quality of treatment. The study appraised the health care seeking behavior of caregivers of sick children who developed cerebral malaria, in Zaria, northwestern Nigeria. Caregivers indentified were parents 29 (87.9%) and grandparents 4 (12.1%). Most of them were in the upper social classes. Health care options utilized before presentation at our facility were formal health facility 24 (72.7%), patent medicine seller 12 (36.4%), home treatment 10 (30.3%), and herbal concoction 6 (18.2%) with majority 24 (72.7%) using more than one option. Antimalarial therapy was instituted in 25 (75.6%) of the cases. Mortality was significantly associated with the use of herbal concoction, treatment at a formal health facility and patent medicine seller, multiple convulsions, age less than 5 years, and noninstitution of antimalarial therapy before presentation. The study showed use of inappropriate health care options by caregivers and highlighted the need to pursue an awareness drive among caregivers on the use of health care options. 1. Introduction Cerebral malaria, a severe form of malaria caused by Plasmodium falciparum, is a significant cause of childhood morbidity and mortality in sub-Saharan Africa [1–3]. It accounts for 1% to 27% of paediatric admissions with case fatality rates ranging from 15% to 50% in our region [3]. Outcome of the disease is influenced by age of child, severity of symptoms, time of intervention and, quality of treatment received [2, 3]. Naturally caregivers of children play a pivotal role in the provision of care for childhood diseases. Since most children cannot fend for themselves, time of intervention and quality of care received depend on the actions of the caregiver. Understanding the concept and consequences of disease, knowledge of treatment modalities, and the capacity to provide or access care are some of the factors that could influence the health care seeking behavior of caregivers. Thus, appraising caregiver health care seeking behavior is necessary for effective prevention and control of grave childhood diseases such as cerebral malaria. This study was undertaken to examine the health care seeking behavior of caregivers of sick children who presented with cerebral malaria at Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital (ABUTH), Zaria and the impact, if any, on the outcome of the disease. 2. Materials and Methods The study was carried out, with approval of the ABUTH ethical and research committee,