Background: Integrated management of neonatal and childhood illness (IMNCI) considers health-seeking behavior an important determinant in childhood morbidity and envisions an improvement in the behavior. The World Health Organization (WHO) recognizes health-care seeking as one of the three central components of the IMNCI. A thorough understanding of health-care seeking behavior is of utmost importance in planning and formulating interventions for decreasing childhood morbidities in India.
Objectives: To study the health-care seeking behavior of parents toward child health problems, to study the association between parentÂ’s behavior and socioeconomic factors, and also to determine the decision-making person regarding health-care seeking.
Materials and Methods: This was a community-based, descriptive, cross-sectional study, conducted in the urban slum area under Urban Health Training Centre in Solapur city. A sample size of 100 was taken, and data were collected using a questionnaire. Analysis of the data was done using percentage and Chi-square test.
Results: Nearly 56% of parents sought health care from private clinic while only 15% went to an urban health-care center. Only 5% of parents directly went to the pharmacy without consulting a doctor, and 21% treated the children at home. The decision-making authority was mother followed by joint decision by the father and the mother.
Conclusion: Majority of the parents sought health care in a private set up. The time taken to seek care was 1-2 days. There was an association of age and education of father as well as mother to health-care seeking behavior. The decision-making authority was mother.
Key words: Health-care Seeking Behavior; Urban Slum; Maharashtra; Morbidity; Mortality
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