Health care seeking behavior and associated factor among mothers/caregivers of under-five children with acute diarrhea in Dangila zuria Woreda, North west Ethiopia

ABSTRACT Introduction Health care seeking interventions can reduce child mortality from easily treatable diseases, however, significant numbers of children die by diarrheal disease due to delays in seeking care in Ethiopia. Thus, the aim of this study was assessed health care seeking behavior and associated factors among mothers/caregivers of under-five children with acute diarrhea in Dangila zuria Woreda, North West Ethiopia, 2018. Method Community-based cross-sectional study design was conducted using structured questionnaires. Data were entered Epi Data Version 3.1 and analyzed using SPSS Version 23. Descriptive statistics were used to examine patterns of health care seeking behavior and multivariable logistic regression analysis was applied to identify factors associated with health care seeking behavior Result The magnitude of health care seeking behavior of mothers/caregivers of under-five children with acute diarrhea was found to be 77.7%. Primary level of education [AOR = 2.0; 95% (CI (1.1-3.9)], sex of child (male) [AOR = 1.7; 95% (CI 1.1-2.6)], availability of health facilities within 60 minutes walking distance [AOR = 2.4; 95 %(CI 1.4-4.1)], severity of illness [AOR=7.5; 95% (CI 3.7-15.2)], two or more under-five children in the family [AOR=0.6;95% (CI 0.4-0.9)], perceived cause of acute diarrhea, (new teeth [AOR =0.3;95% (CI 0.2-0.5)] were significantly associated with health care seeking behavior of mothers/caregivers. Conclusion Increasing the proximity of health facilities and educate mothers/caregivers about the importance of health care seeking behavior and cause of acute diarrhea were recommended to improve health care seeking behavior.