title: Impact of integrated community case management on health-seeking behavior in rural Zambia.
abstract: Provision of integrated community case management (iCCM) for common childhood illnesses by community health workers (CHWs) represents an increasingly common strategy for reducing childhood morbidity and mortality. We sought to assess how iCCM availability influenced care-seeking behavior. In areas where two different iCCM approaches were implemented, we conducted baseline and post-study household surveys on healthcare-seeking practices among women who were caring for children ≤ 5 years in their homes. For children presenting with fever, there was an increase in care sought from CHWs and a decrease in care sought at formal health centers between baseline and post-study periods. For children with fast/difficulty breathing, an increase in care sought from CHWs was only noted in areas where CHWs were trained and supplied with amoxicillin to treat non-severe pneumonia. These findings suggest that iCCM access influences local care-seeking practices and reduces workload at primary health centers.
authors.forename: Philip D
authors.initials: PD
authors.lastname: Seidenberg
authors.forename: Davidson H
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Hamer
authors.forename: Hari
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Iyer
authors.forename: Portipher
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Pilingana
authors.forename: Kazungu
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Siazeele
authors.forename: Busiku
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Hamainza
authors.forename: William B
authors.initials: WB
authors.lastname: MacLeod
authors.forename: Kojo
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yeboah-Antwi
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000658:Amoxicillin; D019090:Case Management; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003153:Community Health Services; D003150:Community Health Workers; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D019033:Delivery of Health Care, Integrated; D003967:Diarrhea / Q000188:drug therapy; D005191:Family Characteristics; D005260:Female; D005334:Fever / Q000188:drug therapy; D006801:Humans; D008288:Malaria / Q000188:drug therapy; D008875:Middle Aged; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011014:Pneumonia / Q000188:drug therapy; D012424:Rural Population; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D055815:Young Adult; D015024:Zambia
chemical_list: D000658:Amoxicillin