Neonatal morbidity and care-seeking behavior in urban Lucknow.
We conducted this study to assess the neonatal morbidity and care-seeking behavior amongst slum and non-slum dwellers at Lucknow. One hundred and fifty neonates were recruited within 48 hours of birth from an urban Reproductive and Child Health center and followed up at 6 weeks +/- 15 days at home. Twenty five (16.6%) were lost to follow-up. Among those followed up, 46.4% (58/125) developed one or more morbidity; 26% (15/58) of these did not receive qualified medical care. Neonatal morbidity was 56.8% (33/58) among slum dwellers and 37.3% (25/67) among non-slum dwellers (absolute difference=19.5%, 95% CI=3.3 to 34.7; P=0.04). Severe neonatal illnesses were also significantly higher among neonates from slums as compared to those from non-slum areas (OR=4.50, 95% CI=1.28 to 16.38, P=0.007). Male gender was associated with any care-seeking (OR=1.24, 95% CI =1.24 to 91.99; P=0.03) and was more likely to be seen by a qualified provider (OR=3.8, 95% CI=1.05 to 13.94; P=0.04). Since nearly half of the neonates had morbidity and more than a quarter of them did not receive qualified medical care, there is a need to introduce Community Integrated Management of Neonatal and Childhood Illnesses (IMNCI) program here, emphasizing on the importance of qualified medical care for ill neonates, including females.
Srivastava
Neeraj Mohan
NM
Department of Pediatrics, King Georges Medical University (KGMU), Lucknow, India.
Awasthi
Shally
S
Mishra
Rita
R
D016001:Confidence Intervals; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006297:Health Services Accessibility / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D007194:India; D007223:Infant; D007226:Infant Mortality; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D016017:Odds Ratio; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011204:Poverty Areas; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014505:Urban Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*