Health care seeking behaviors for sick children: time span for seeking health care

Abstract

Objective: Healthcare seeking behavior of caregivers for their children greatly varies. Especially for children, not to seek healthcare when it is necessary may cause serious consequences. The aim of this study is to determine the time span for seeking healthcare for children and factors related with it.

Methods: A cross-sectional / analytic design was chosen for the study. Participants were caregivers of 203 children registered to 3 family health units in İzmir / Bornova - Altındağ district. Data were collected via a questionnaire consisting of questions about demographic characteristics of children, caregivers and household as well as questions about the characteristics of current encounter and attitudes and behaviors of caregivers. Questionnaire was applied face to face.

Results: Average time for seeking health care was 4.0±5.3 days. 59.6% of caregivers stated that they gave medicine at home before coming to the doctor. Majority of the caregivers firstly tried to treat illness at home and sought for healthcare if symptoms did not regress or they progress. Fever significantly shortened admission time.

Conclusion: Caregivers who applied first time for a given complaint, those whose children have fever and those who state accessibility as a cause of waiting for seeing doctor go to their family physicians in a shorter time for children’s current.