SynthesisPloS one2025
Delays in seeking healthcare and its determinants among malaria patients in Ethiopia: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in PloS one, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Delay in malaria care-seeking for children under five in Africa: a systematic review.Malaria journal · 2026Pooled it
- Assessment of Knowledge, Attitudes, Prevention Practices, and Self-Reported Malaria Prevalence Among Summer Degree Students at Debre Markos University, Ethiopia, 2025.Journal of parasitology research · 2026Article
- Diagnostic and therapeutic practices for paediatric malaria: Gap between guidelines and clinical reality in south-east Gabon.MalariaWorld journal · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
methodsPubMed, Cochrane Library, Scopus, Web of Science, Google Scholar and Google were searched. Cross-sectional and case-control studies about delays in seeking healthcare for more than 24 hours were included. STATA 17 was used to analyze the data. Heterogeneity across studies was assessed via the I2 test. A funnel plot and Egger's test were used to assess publication bias. Subgroup analyses were performed by region and study setting. Sensitivity analysis was performed to determine the influence of individual studies.
resultsA total of 18 articles with 7371 participants were included in this review. The pooled prevalence of delay in seeking healthcare was 67% (95% CI: 51%-84%). Age less than 15 years (OR: 2.27, 95% CI: 1.34-3.85), inability to read and write (OR: 3.36, 95% CI: 1.18-9.69), travel to health institutions on foot (OR: 2.77, 95% CI: 1.71-4.49), and by horse (OR: 2.76, 95% CI: 1.57-4.84), living far from a health institution (OR: 2.65, CI: 1.37-5.13), not having a family history of death (OR: 3.04, 95% CI: 2.14-4.33), and not being a member of community-based health insurance (OR: 7.14, 95% CI: 1.09-46.63) were significant determinants of delays in seeking healthcare.
conclusionThe pooled prevalence of delays in seeking healthcare was high, and most of the determinants were modifiable. These findings underscore the need for targeted interventions to address these barriers and improve timely access to healthcare for affected populations.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.