MOTHERS' CARE-SEEKING BEHAVIOR FOR COMMON CHILDHOOD ILLNESSES AND ITS PREDICTORS AT TULO DISTRICT, WEST HARERGHE, ETHIOPIA, 2024

Background: Healthcare seeking behaviour is a sequence of corrective actions taken to address perceived ill-health in order to find appropriate treatment. Even though appropriate healthcare seeking behaviour can reduce morbidity and mortality in children under-five age from preventable and treatable diseases, it has become a significant public health issue in developing countries like Ethiopia. Despite being a public health issue, there is a limited study on healthcare-seeking behaviour among caregivers of under-five children during illnesses in my study area. Objective: To assess prevalence and its predictors of healthcare seeking behaviour for common childhood illnesses among mothers/caregivers with under five children in Tulo district, West Harerghe Zone, East Ethiopia, 2024. Methods: A community-based cross-sectional study conducted from May 8 to June 23, 2024, among urban and rural participants. Multistage stage sampling technique was employed with a total of 634 participants by structured questionnaire using face-to-face interviews via Kobo Toolbox and SPSS version 27 for data analysis. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were done to assess the association between caregivers’ healthcare seeking behaviour and independent variables. Finally, odds ratios with 95% confidence interval were used to measure the strength of association and statistical significance was set at p-value < 0.05. Result: A total of 618 participants with a response rate of 97.5% were participated in the study. The overall prevalence of health care seeking behaviour for common childhood illness was 72.2% (95% CI: 66.4%-78%). Moreover, caregivers’ age from 15-19year (AOR=4.433; 95%CI: 1.431-13.731) and 25-29year(AOR=2.841;95%CI:1.073-7.518), educational status (AOR=0.185; 95%CI: 0.043, 0.801), and perceived severity of illnesses (AOR=2.613; 95%CI: 1.186, 5.757) were predictors of health seeking behaviour for common childhood illnesses Conclusion: The prevalence of health care seeking behaviour for common childhood illnesses in the study area was higher than in some other parts of Ethiopia. Age and educational status of mothers/caregivers, and perceived illness severity were factors influencing this behaviour. Therefore, providing continuous health education and promotion of health strategies to strengthen caregivers’ healthcare seeking behaviour are very important