ArticleBMC public health2021
Determinants of treatment-seeking behavior during self-reported febrile illness episodes using the socio-ecological model in Kilombero District, Tanzania.
Article in BMC public health, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 22 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
22 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Delay in malaria care-seeking for children under five in Africa: a systematic review.Malaria journal · 2026Pooled it
- Determinants of delay in treatment-seeking among malaria patients attending health facilities in Ethiopia from 2010 to 2024: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Malaria journal · 2026Pooled it
- Analysis of factors influencing rapid treatment initiation decisions among people living with HIV: focusing on the role of social support.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- Factors associated with insecticide-treated net utilization among women of reproductive age in Ghana: a cross-sectional study.BMC public health · 2025Article
- Determinants of timely malaria treatment among under-five children attending public health facilities in Kisumu East sub-county, Kenya: a health facility-based cross-sectional study.Malaria journal · 2025Article
- Article
- Spontaneous recanalization following subtotal proximal LAD occlusion: a case report.Journal of medical case reports · 2025Article
- Prevalence and Antimicrobial Resistance of Typhoid Fever in Ghana: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Diseases (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Healthcare utilisation for febrile diseases in northern Tanzania: a randomised population-based cluster survey.BMJ global health · 2025Article
- Prevalence and drivers of malaria infection among asymptomatic and symptomatic community members in five regions with varying transmission intensity in mainland Tanzania.Parasites & vectors · 2025Article
- Healthcare-seeking behaviour of fever cases in Magude district, southern Mozambique: A qualitative study.PloS one · 2025Article
- 'In God We Trust': The role of religion in COVID-19 vaccinations in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.Journal of public health in Africa · 2025Article
- Dengue Treatment-Seeking Behavior: A Qualitative Study With Costa Rican Residents.Health education & behavior : the official publication of the Society for Public Health Education · 2024Article
- Dengue virus transmission during non-outbreak period in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania: a cross-sectional survey.BMC infectious diseases · 2024Article
- Care seeking for childhood illnesses in rural Mtwara, south-east Tanzania: a mixed methods study.Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene · 2024Article
- Treatment seeking behaviours, antibiotic use and relationships to multi-drug resistance: A study of urinary tract infection patients in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.PLOS global public health · 2024Article
- Comparing the roles of community health workers for malaria control and elimination in Cambodia and Tanzania.BMJ global health · 2023Review
- Utilization of insecticide-treated nets and associated factors among childbearing women in Northern Nigeria.Malaria journal · 2023Article
- Behavioral deviations: healthcare-seeking behavior of chronic disease patients with intention to visit primary health care institutions.BMC health services research · 2023Article
- Treatment seeking behaviours, antibiotic use and relationships to multi-drug resistance: A study of urinary tract infection patients in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences · 2023Article
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Abstract
backgroundFebrile diseases in Sub-Saharan Africa cause acute and chronic illness. Co-infections are common and these diseases have a complex etiology that includes zoonoses. For the implementation of appropriate treatment and control strategies, determinants of lay treatment-seeking behavior by the affected communities need to be understood. The objective of this study was to explore, using the socio-ecological model, the determinants of treatment-seeking actions among self-identified febrile illness cases in the Kilombero District of Tanzania.
methodsThirty-nine in-depth interviews were conducted with 28 men and 11 women in three villages in Kilombero district. These villages were purposively selected due to malaria endemicity in the area, animal husbandry practices, and proximity to livestock-wildlife interaction, all risk factors for contracting febrile zoonotic infections. Thematic analysis was conducted on the interviews to identify the key determinants of treatment-seeking actions.
resultsStudy participants attributed febrile illnesses to malaria, typhoid and urinary tract infections. Treatment-seeking behavior was an iterative process, influenced by individual, socio-cultural, ecological and policy factors. Age, expendable income, previous history with a febrile illness, perceptions on disease severity, seasonal livelihood activities and access to timely healthcare were some of the determinants. Self-treatment with pharmaceutical drugs and herbs was usually the initial course of action. Formal healthcare was sought only when self-treatment failed and traditional healers were consulted after the perceived failure of conventional treatment. Delays in seeking appropriate health care and the consultation of medically unqualified individuals was very common.
conclusionThe results imply that treatment-seeking behavior is shaped by multiple factors across all levels of the socio-ecological model. Public policy efforts need to focus on facilitating prompt health care seeking through community education on the complicated etiology of febrile illnesses. Improved access to timely treatment and better differential diagnostics by health professionals are essential to ensure correct and appropriate treatment and to reduce reliance of patients on unqualified persons.
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