Caregivers' perception and determinants of delayed presentation of children with severe malaria in an emergency room in Benin City, Nigeria
Niger. Postgrad. Med. J.
; 29(3): 198-205, 2022. figures, tables
Article
in English
| AIM
| ID: biblio-1380942
Responsible library:
CG1.1
ABSTRACT
Introduction:
Severe malaria is a leading cause of mortality due to late presentation to health facilities. Hence, there is a need to identify and mitigate factors promoting delayed presentation with severe malaria.Objective:
This study aimed to evaluate determinants of delayed presentation of children with severe malaria in a tertiary referral hospital.Methods:
This study adopted a descriptive, cross-sectional design. The participants were children with a diagnosis of severe malaria, based on WHO diagnostic criteria. Delayed presentation was defined as presentation at the referral centre at >3 days of illness. Inferential analyses were done to identify factors associated with delayed presentation. P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.Results:
A total of 126 children with severe malaria participated in the study; their mean (standard deviation) age was 4.2 (5.3) years. The prevalence of delayed presentation in this study is 37.3%. Socio-economic class (P = 0.003); marital status (P = 0.015) and the number of health facilities visited before admission in the referral centre (P = 0.008) were significantly associated with delayed presentation. Children from upper socio-economic class were thrice more likely to present late, compared to those from lower social class (odds ratio [OR] = 3.728, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.6948.208; P = 0.001). Likewise, the Yorubas were more delayed than the Binis (OR = 0.408, 95% CI 0.1800.928; P = 0.033). There was a negative correlation between caregivers' perception of treatment (r = −0.113, P = 0.21) of convulsion in severe malaria and timing of presentation.Conclusions:
Delayed presentation is common with multifactorial determinants in the setting. Health education of caregivers on the consequences of delayed presentation in severe malaria is desirable.
Full text:
Available
Index:
AIM (Africa)
Main subject:
Referral and Consultation
/
Severity of Illness Index
/
Malaria, Falciparum
/
Caregivers
/
Health Facilities
Type of study:
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
/
Risk factors
Limits:
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
Language:
English
Journal:
Niger. Postgrad. Med. J.
Year:
2022
Type:
Article
Institution/Affiliation country:
Department of Child Health, University of Benin Teaching Hospital, and School of Medicine, University of Benin/NG
/
Department of Community Medicine, LAUTECH, Ogbomoso/NG
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