Health Care-Seeking Practices of Caregivers of under-Five Children with Diarrheal Diseases in Two Informal Settlements in Nairobi, Kenya

Carol K. Mukiira, African Population and Health Research Center (APHRC)
Latifat D. G. Ibisomi, University of the Witwatersrand

Diarrhea is among the leading causes of childhood mortality in developing countries, in Kenya it’s the second. Despite being easy to prevent, diarrhea causes about 1.5million under-five deaths annually. Appropriate healthcare-seeking is one of the ways of prevention. The study explored the healthcare-seeking practices of caregivers with under-five children with diarrhea in two slum in Nairobi. Specifically it identified healthcare-seeking practices of caregivers, determined prevalence of appropriate healthcare-seeking practices and identified socio-demographic factors associated with healthcare-seeking practices The study used data nested into the NUHDSS, which collected data on morbidity for children. About-1,656 of children were found to have diarrhea two-weeks preceding the study. Results show that healthcare-seeking practices for diarrhea remains a challenge among the urban poor, with 55% of caregivers seeking inappropriate-healthcare. A significant proportion of caregivers (35%) are taking no action regarding the illness. Duration of illness, place of residence and the child’s age were critical predictors of healthcare-seeking.