Abstract

Health care seeking behavior has been defined as any action undertaken by individuals who perceive themselves to have a health problem or to be ill for the purpose of finding an appropriate remedy Childhood malnutrition and their complications can be reduced if early intervention is made in terms of appropriate healthcare-seeking behavior is adopted by mothers of severely acute malnourished children. Aim: 1)To assess the healthcare-seeking behaviors of mothers of severely acute malnourished children admitted in selected NRCs of Jabalpur district. 2) To determine the reasons for not seeking curative care for children who are perceived to be sick. Material and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on total 250 mothers of severely acute malnourished children admitted in nutritional rehabilitation centers of Jabalpur district from April 2019 to July 2020 for assessing health-seeking behavior. Results: Out of total 250 mothers 80(32%) mothers takes self-medication,114(45.6%) mothers choose govt. health facility,46(18.4%) went to the private practitioner while 20(8%) went to the quacks during illness. Only 45(18%) mothers seek healthcare facility at same day or within 24hrs while 205(82%) mothers seek after 3-4 days of illness. Conclusion: Mother’s age, educational status, large family size, time interval to reach health facility, were the risk factors for not seeking healthcare behavior.

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