Maneeta Uppal
Country: Canada
Background - Molecular Biology
Research Project: The Influence of Maternal Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices on Urban Child Health: A Mixed Methods Study in Mumbai, India
Objectives: A mixed-methods approach was used to assess factors determining healthcare for childhood illnesses among mothers living in urban slums in Mumbai, India. Maternal health seeking behaviour and practices, their perceptions of illness and utilization of health services, complemented by the insights and experience of health care providers, were investigated to yield a holistic understanding of the challenges faced in improving child health.
Methods: Questionnaires were conducted in four cluster areas of an eastern urban slum, Ghatkoper in the state of Maharashtra, via random probability based sampling techniques. These were enhanced by incorporating focus group discussions to further explore and ascertain maternal health seeking behaviour, hygiene practices, and perceptions of available health interventions. Semi-structured key informant interviews were utilized with health providers and NGO workers for further insights about the current health interventions aimed at prevalent under 5 illness, as well as improvements for the future of child health.
Results: A total of 112 households were surveyed, 4 focus group discussions facilitated and 8 key informant interviews conducted. The findings from these quantitative and qualitative data methods uncovered factors that affect urban child health in light of linkages between maternal health seeking behaviour and accessibility to current public health interventions. Findings described maternal knowledge, attitude and practice patterns relating to recognition, management and treatment of childhood illnesses. The results also provided details on the perceptions and experiences of the public health system from the supply and demand standpoint of the mother and healthcare provider relationship. Maternal educational levels were shown to play a major role in preventative and curative health measures for children under 5.
Discussion: The acquiescence of maternal knowledge and perspectives provided shape understanding the dynamics behind the underutilization of public health services as well as captured potential avenues for improvements in proper child care. This has lead to an opportunity to further probe into the dynamics behind maternal health seeking behaviour. Research findings also lead to speculation on the type of efforts needed to enhance child health, such as effective health promotion, increased maternal knowledge with respect to recognizing illness severity and engagement strategies for health facility staff to enhance quality of care.
Keywords: urban child health, maternal health seeking behaviour, underutilization, research, engagement