A mother’s choice: a qualitative study of mothers’ health seeking behaviour for their children with acute diarrhoea

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dc.contributor.authorCunnama, Lucy
dc.contributor.authorHonda, Ayako
dc.date.accessioned2021-10-08T06:20:23Z
dc.date.available2021-10-08T06:20:23Z
dc.date.issued2016
dc.description.abstractAbstract Background Diarrhoea presents a considerable health risk to young children and is one of the leading causes of infant mortality. Although proven cost-effective interventions exist, South Africa is yet to reach the Sustainable Development Goals set for the elimination of preventable under-five mortality and water-borne diseases. The rural study area in the Eastern Cape of South Africa continues to have a parallel health system comprising traditional and modern healthcare services. It is in this setting that this study aimed to qualitatively examine the beliefs surrounding and perceived quality of healthcare accessed for children’s acute diarrhoea. Methods Purposive sampling was used to select participants for nine focus-group-discussions with mothers of children less than 5 years old and 11 key-informant-interviews with community members and traditional and modern practitioners. The focus-group-discussions and interviews were held to explore the reasons why mothers seek certain types of healthcare for children with diarrhoea. Data was analysed using manual thematic coding methods. Results It was found that seeking healthcare from traditional practitioners is deeply ingrained in the culture of the society. People’s beliefs about the causative agents of diarrhoea are at the heart of seeking care from traditional practitioners, often in order to treat supposed supernatural causes. A combination of care-types is acceptable to the community, but not necessarily to modern practitioners, who are concerned about the inclusion of unknown ingredients and harmful substances in some traditional medicines, which could be toxic to children. These factors highlight the complexity of regulating traditional medicine. Conclusion South African traditional practitioners can be seen as a valuable human resource, especially as they are culturally accepted in their communities. However due to the variability of practices amongst traditional practitioners and some reluctance on the part of modern practitioners regulation and integration may prove complex.
dc.identifier.apacitationCunnama, L., & Honda, A. (2016). A mother’s choice: a qualitative study of mothers’ health seeking behaviour for their children with acute diarrhoea. <i>BMC Health Services Research</i>, 16(1), 174 - 177. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/34264en_ZA
dc.identifier.chicagocitationCunnama, Lucy, and Ayako Honda "A mother’s choice: a qualitative study of mothers’ health seeking behaviour for their children with acute diarrhoea." <i>BMC Health Services Research</i> 16, 1. (2016): 174 - 177. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/34264en_ZA
dc.identifier.citationCunnama, L. & Honda, A. 2016. A mother’s choice: a qualitative study of mothers’ health seeking behaviour for their children with acute diarrhoea. <i>BMC Health Services Research.</i> 16(1):174 - 177. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/34264en_ZA
dc.identifier.issn1472-6963
dc.identifier.ris TY - Journal Article AU - Cunnama, Lucy AU - Honda, Ayako AB - Abstract Background Diarrhoea presents a considerable health risk to young children and is one of the leading causes of infant mortality. Although proven cost-effective interventions exist, South Africa is yet to reach the Sustainable Development Goals set for the elimination of preventable under-five mortality and water-borne diseases. The rural study area in the Eastern Cape of South Africa continues to have a parallel health system comprising traditional and modern healthcare services. It is in this setting that this study aimed to qualitatively examine the beliefs surrounding and perceived quality of healthcare accessed for children’s acute diarrhoea. Methods Purposive sampling was used to select participants for nine focus-group-discussions with mothers of children less than 5 years old and 11 key-informant-interviews with community members and traditional and modern practitioners. The focus-group-discussions and interviews were held to explore the reasons why mothers seek certain types of healthcare for children with diarrhoea. Data was analysed using manual thematic coding methods. Results It was found that seeking healthcare from traditional practitioners is deeply ingrained in the culture of the society. People’s beliefs about the causative agents of diarrhoea are at the heart of seeking care from traditional practitioners, often in order to treat supposed supernatural causes. A combination of care-types is acceptable to the community, but not necessarily to modern practitioners, who are concerned about the inclusion of unknown ingredients and harmful substances in some traditional medicines, which could be toxic to children. These factors highlight the complexity of regulating traditional medicine. Conclusion South African traditional practitioners can be seen as a valuable human resource, especially as they are culturally accepted in their communities. However due to the variability of practices amongst traditional practitioners and some reluctance on the part of modern practitioners regulation and integration may prove complex. DA - 2016 DB - OpenUCT DP - University of Cape Town IS - 1 J1 - BMC Health Services Research LK - https://open.uct.ac.za PY - 2016 SM - 1472-6963 T1 - A mother’s choice: a qualitative study of mothers’ health seeking behaviour for their children with acute diarrhoea TI - A mother’s choice: a qualitative study of mothers’ health seeking behaviour for their children with acute diarrhoea UR - http://hdl.handle.net/11427/34264 ER - en_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11427/34264
dc.identifier.vancouvercitationCunnama L, Honda A. A mother’s choice: a qualitative study of mothers’ health seeking behaviour for their children with acute diarrhoea. BMC Health Services Research. 2016;16(1):174 - 177. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/34264.en_ZA
dc.language.isoeng
dc.publisher.departmentDepartment of Public Health and Family Medicine
dc.publisher.facultyFaculty of Health Sciences
dc.sourceBMC Health Services Research
dc.source.journalissue1
dc.source.journalvolume16
dc.source.pagination174 - 177
dc.source.urihttps://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s12913-016-1911-7
dc.subject.otherChild-health
dc.subject.otherHealthcare access
dc.subject.otherPerceived quality
dc.subject.otherQualitative
dc.subject.otherRural
dc.subject.otherSouth Africa
dc.subject.otherTraditional practitioners
dc.subject.otherAcute Disease
dc.subject.otherAttitude of Health Personnel
dc.subject.otherChild, Preschool
dc.subject.otherChoice Behavior
dc.subject.otherDiarrhea
dc.subject.otherFemale
dc.subject.otherFocus Groups
dc.subject.otherHealth Personnel
dc.subject.otherHumans
dc.subject.otherInfant
dc.subject.otherInfant Mortality
dc.subject.otherInterviews as Topic
dc.subject.otherMedicine, African Traditional
dc.subject.otherMothers
dc.subject.otherPatient Acceptance of Health Care
dc.subject.otherQualitative Research
dc.subject.otherSouth Africa
dc.titleA mother’s choice: a qualitative study of mothers’ health seeking behaviour for their children with acute diarrhoea
dc.typeJournal Article
uct.type.publicationResearch
uct.type.resourceJournal Article
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