Introduction: Convulsions are the commonest neurological emergencies in preschool children. The outcome of convulsions in this age group is determined by the cause and the treatment-seeking behavior of their caregivers. Objective: To determine the treatment-seeking behavior of caregivers of preschool children with a history of convulsion. Method: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among caregivers of preschool children to identify those with a history of convulsion in the previous 12 months and the immediate treatment response by their caregivers. Results: Caregivers of 632 children were surveyed. Thirty five (5.5%) children had a history of convulsion. Nine caregivers (25.7%) took no action to stop the convulsion, 10 (28.6%) gave herbal concoctions, 12 (34.3%) used medicine available at home from previous illness, 3 (8.6%) tepid sponged the children while 1 (2.8%) gave local enema. Subsequent treatment was sought by 23 (65.7%) caregivers. Of this number, 13 (55.6%) sought care from traditional healers, 5 (21.7%) from primary health centers and the remaining 5 (21.7%)from hospitals. Cost, proximity and perceived quality of care were the main determinants of the choice of facility for subsequent care. Conclusion: Caregivers of preschool children were either passive or took potentially harmful actions in managing childhood convulsions at home. There is need for mass enlightenment programme on appropriate actions regarding childhood convulsion in rural communities.
| Published in | Science Journal of Public Health (Volume 2, Issue 4) |
| DOI | 10.11648/j.sjph.20140204.18 |
| Page(s) | 293-296 |
| Creative Commons |
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited. |
| Copyright |
Copyright © The Author(s), 2014. Published by Science Publishing Group |
Treatment-Seeking, Convulsion, Children, Caregivers
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APA Style
Ekong Udoh, Komomo Eyong, Joseph Okebe, Uduak Okomo, Martin Meremikwu. (2014). Treatment-Seeking for Convulsions in Preschool Children in Calabar, Nigeria. Science Journal of Public Health, 2(4), 293-296. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.sjph.20140204.18
ACS Style
Ekong Udoh; Komomo Eyong; Joseph Okebe; Uduak Okomo; Martin Meremikwu. Treatment-Seeking for Convulsions in Preschool Children in Calabar, Nigeria. Sci. J. Public Health 2014, 2(4), 293-296. doi: 10.11648/j.sjph.20140204.18
AMA Style
Ekong Udoh, Komomo Eyong, Joseph Okebe, Uduak Okomo, Martin Meremikwu. Treatment-Seeking for Convulsions in Preschool Children in Calabar, Nigeria. Sci J Public Health. 2014;2(4):293-296. doi: 10.11648/j.sjph.20140204.18
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Download@article{10.11648/j.sjph.20140204.18,
author = {Ekong Udoh and Komomo Eyong and Joseph Okebe and Uduak Okomo and Martin Meremikwu},
title = {Treatment-Seeking for Convulsions in Preschool Children in Calabar, Nigeria},
journal = {Science Journal of Public Health},
volume = {2},
number = {4},
pages = {293-296},
doi = {10.11648/j.sjph.20140204.18},
url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.sjph.20140204.18},
eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.sjph.20140204.18},
abstract = {Introduction: Convulsions are the commonest neurological emergencies in preschool children. The outcome of convulsions in this age group is determined by the cause and the treatment-seeking behavior of their caregivers. Objective: To determine the treatment-seeking behavior of caregivers of preschool children with a history of convulsion. Method: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among caregivers of preschool children to identify those with a history of convulsion in the previous 12 months and the immediate treatment response by their caregivers. Results: Caregivers of 632 children were surveyed. Thirty five (5.5%) children had a history of convulsion. Nine caregivers (25.7%) took no action to stop the convulsion, 10 (28.6%) gave herbal concoctions, 12 (34.3%) used medicine available at home from previous illness, 3 (8.6%) tepid sponged the children while 1 (2.8%) gave local enema. Subsequent treatment was sought by 23 (65.7%) caregivers. Of this number, 13 (55.6%) sought care from traditional healers, 5 (21.7%) from primary health centers and the remaining 5 (21.7%)from hospitals. Cost, proximity and perceived quality of care were the main determinants of the choice of facility for subsequent care. Conclusion: Caregivers of preschool children were either passive or took potentially harmful actions in managing childhood convulsions at home. There is need for mass enlightenment programme on appropriate actions regarding childhood convulsion in rural communities.},
year = {2014}
}
TY - JOUR T1 - Treatment-Seeking for Convulsions in Preschool Children in Calabar, Nigeria AU - Ekong Udoh AU - Komomo Eyong AU - Joseph Okebe AU - Uduak Okomo AU - Martin Meremikwu Y1 - 2014/07/10 PY - 2014 N1 - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.sjph.20140204.18 DO - 10.11648/j.sjph.20140204.18 T2 - Science Journal of Public Health JF - Science Journal of Public Health JO - Science Journal of Public Health SP - 293 EP - 296 PB - Science Publishing Group SN - 2328-7950 UR - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.sjph.20140204.18 AB - Introduction: Convulsions are the commonest neurological emergencies in preschool children. The outcome of convulsions in this age group is determined by the cause and the treatment-seeking behavior of their caregivers. Objective: To determine the treatment-seeking behavior of caregivers of preschool children with a history of convulsion. Method: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among caregivers of preschool children to identify those with a history of convulsion in the previous 12 months and the immediate treatment response by their caregivers. Results: Caregivers of 632 children were surveyed. Thirty five (5.5%) children had a history of convulsion. Nine caregivers (25.7%) took no action to stop the convulsion, 10 (28.6%) gave herbal concoctions, 12 (34.3%) used medicine available at home from previous illness, 3 (8.6%) tepid sponged the children while 1 (2.8%) gave local enema. Subsequent treatment was sought by 23 (65.7%) caregivers. Of this number, 13 (55.6%) sought care from traditional healers, 5 (21.7%) from primary health centers and the remaining 5 (21.7%)from hospitals. Cost, proximity and perceived quality of care were the main determinants of the choice of facility for subsequent care. Conclusion: Caregivers of preschool children were either passive or took potentially harmful actions in managing childhood convulsions at home. There is need for mass enlightenment programme on appropriate actions regarding childhood convulsion in rural communities. VL - 2 IS - 4 ER -
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