BACKGROUND:
Malnutrition among
children under five years of age is a major
public health issue in many low and middle-
income constrained countries. According to
WHO, 5.3 million under-five
children die every year and about 45% of these deaths are linked to
malnutrition. While it is clear that
poverty and lack of
food are important factors in
children's
malnutrition, less is known about the ways in which local
conceptions of
malnutrition affect parents'
treatment choices. In
Ethiopia,
child malnutrition is a severe
public health problem and a common cause of
child death, and this
paper explores the local views of
malnutrition and how these shape people's
health-seeking behaviour.
METHODS:
The study was conducted in eastern
Ethiopia from December 2017 to January 2019, conducting interviews and
focus group discussions to explore different views and
treatment options
malnutrition. The study used
grounded theory because it allows new and unexpected themes to arise from the data.
Researchers' assumptions on local terminologies of
child malnutrition are also controlled as a principle of ground theory.
RESULTS:
Child malnutrition was not only perceived to be related to lack of
food but was understood in a wider local
conceptualization of
health and illness.
Parents often relied on healers because they are long-standing members of the
community, possess indigenous
knowledge, and
cost less than other options. Because
health professionals and the
community perceive and speak of
health very differently, people often do not seek support from
health services. The misalignments between how
health professionals and healers
diagnose and treat malnourished
children have implications on the possibilities to implement change to reduce
malnutrition.
CONCLUSIONS:
Through an exploration of people's own terminology and understandings of what a malnourished
child is, as well as the underlying reasons for their illness, this
paper explores how people understand
malnutrition symptoms and why many tend to rely on healers rather than seeking care from
health centres.