The World Health Organization launched eight millennium goals, including one on reducing child mortality(4-7) and this has led to the implementation of measures to provide better follow up of children to ensure they are healthy and do not suffer from diseases that could have been avoided by adequate care.
However, it is known that the vast majority of children drop out from health follow up and this has consequences for family well-being and healthcare costs (5-8). This is a problem because Child Health Service is linked to both maternal and child wellbeing and a large number of conditions can be treated through proper care in childhood(9).
It is therefore important to know what causes this phenomenon in order to improve the quality of healthcare and make it more accessible. The present article aims to synthesize and analyze the results of a multidisciplinary project that explored the determinants of healthcare follow up dropout from child services. This was a cross sectional analytic study where pretested semi structured questionnaires were administered to 602 women from a rural community in South East Nigeria. Then two focus group discussions were conducted with 8-10 men and women from each community. Statistical analyses of the chi square test and logistic regression analysis were used to identify factors related to child healthcare service utilization(9).
The results indicate that children drop out from medical consultations due to several factors. For example, some parents do not understand their child’s health condition and needs whereas others experience high levels of stress or lack confidence in the competence of health professionals(10). In addition, the time of the consultation is an important factor. Many families work during business hours and are unable to attend consultations. This has led to a decrease in utilization of these services(10).
Other factors relate to the individual’s beliefs and perception of health services. These beliefs are based on cultural and religious values and can contribute to the acceptance or rejection of the child’s disease and its treatment(10). Finally, there is also the fact that children are unable to communicate their feelings or express them correctly, which can lead them to hide their symptoms from their caregivers(10).
The findings from this multidisciplinary project show that a strategy of salutogenesis can be an effective tool to promote Child Health Service . Salutogenesis focuses on factors that foster people’s sense of coherence and enhance their perception of life as meaningful, comprehensible and manageable(11). Therefore, health professionals should encourage the participation of parents in their children’s DM by clarifying their legal rights, daily caring routines and treatment options(12). This will contribute to making healthcare more comprehensible and manageable for children and their guardians(13).
