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Author Notes:

Ketema Degefa, Email:degefaketema30@gmail.com

KD, AT, and CA designed the study. KD performed data collection, data analysis, drafting, and editing. AT performed data collection and data analysis. MB performed data Interpretation and substantial revision. CA, LM, NA, JB, MM, and KS supervised the data analysis and discussed and contributed to the manuscript. The author(s) read and approved the final manuscript.

The authors acknowledge the Child Health and Mortality Prevention Surveillance (CHAMPS) program Social-Behavioral Science team. We are also grateful to the Kersa district health offices, study participants, and all the staff of the Hararghe Health Research partnership.

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Subject:

Research Funding:

This work was supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation through a grant EPDIZJ66.

Keywords:

  • Science & Technology
  • Life Sciences & Biomedicine
  • Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
  • Malnutrition
  • Health-seeking behaviour
  • Ethiopia
  • Child mortality
  • Healers
  • Healthcare system
  • Qualitative
  • PERCEPTIONS
  • COMMUNITY

Using traditional healers to treat child malnutrition: a qualitative study of health-seeking behaviour in eastern Ethiopia

Tools:

Journal Title:

BMC PUBLIC HEALTH

Volume:

Volume 22, Number 1

Publisher:

, Pages 873-873

Type of Work:

Article | Final Publisher PDF

Abstract:

Background: Malnutrition among children under five years of age is a major public health issue in many low and middle-income constrained countries. According to WHO, 5.3 million under-five children die every year and about 45% of these deaths are linked to malnutrition. While it is clear that poverty and lack of food are important factors in children’s malnutrition, less is known about the ways in which local conceptions of malnutrition affect parents’ treatment choices. In Ethiopia, child malnutrition is a severe public health problem and a common cause of child death, and this paper explores the local views of malnutrition and how these shape people’s health-seeking behaviour. Methods: The study was conducted in eastern Ethiopia from December 2017 to January 2019, conducting interviews and focus group discussions to explore different views and treatment options malnutrition. The study used grounded theory because it allows new and unexpected themes to arise from the data. Researchers’ assumptions on local terminologies of child malnutrition are also controlled as a principle of ground theory. Results: Child malnutrition was not only perceived to be related to lack of food but was understood in a wider local conceptualization of health and illness. Parents often relied on healers because they are long-standing members of the community, possess indigenous knowledge, and cost less than other options. Because health professionals and the community perceive and speak of health very differently, people often do not seek support from health services. The misalignments between how health professionals and healers diagnose and treat malnourished children have implications on the possibilities to implement change to reduce malnutrition. Conclusions: Through an exploration of people’s own terminology and understandings of what a malnourished child is, as well as the underlying reasons for their illness, this paper explores how people understand malnutrition symptoms and why many tend to rely on healers rather than seeking care from health centres.

Copyright information:

© The Author(s) 2022

This is an Open Access work distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/rdf).
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