title: Illness recognition, home care, and care-seeking for sick infants less than two months of age in Shebedino District, Sidama Zone, Ethiopia.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The incidence of newborn and young infant health danger signs is unknown in Ethiopia. Neverthe- less, experience shows that care-seeking is far lower than conservative morbidity estimates would project.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To examine illness recognition, home care, decision-making, and care-seeking for sick infants less than two months of age in Shebedino District, Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples Region in 2011.
  
  
  METHODS
  Focus group interviews of mothers (n = 60) of recently ill children.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Mothers reported recognizing many, but not all, evidence-based newborn danger signs. Home care ranged from probably harmless to harmful and delayed definitive care-seeking. Decision-making was widespread, but patterns of care-seeking rarely led to prompt, evidence-based care. Mothers reported 10 barriers to care- seeking at health posts: lack of knowledge about availability of curative services, fear of evil eye, social stigma, perceived financial barrier, perceived young infant fragility, an elder's contrary advice, distance, husband's re- fusal, fear of injection, and belief in recovery without medicine.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Young infants are more vulnerable to illness than their older counterparts, yet they are less likely to receive the care they need without a targeted, contextualized communication strategy to generate demand for case management services that are accessible, available, and of good quality.
authors.forename: Worku
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Tefera
authors.forename: Hailu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tesfaye
authors.forename: Elias
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kayessa
authors.forename: Karen Z
authors.initials: KZ
authors.lastname: Waltensperger
authors.forename: Yenealem
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Tadesse
authors.forename: David R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Marsh
mesh_terms: D005002:Ethiopia; D017144:Focus Groups; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006699:Home Care Services; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007224:Infant Care; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D009035:Mothers; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care