Study on Drugs Given to Children under Five Years at Home Prior to Admission, their Sources and Presenting Symptoms at Amana District Hospital

M Justin-Temu; G H Rimoy; N Gangji; J Maridadi

M Justin-Temu Department of Pharmaceutics, Faculty of Pharmacy, P.O. Box 65013, Dar-es-Salaam
G H Rimoy Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, P.O. Box 65013, Dar-es-Salaam
N Gangji Department of Pharmaceutics, Faculty of Pharmacy, P.O. Box 65013, Dar-es-Salaam
J Maridadi Amana District Hospital, Dar es Salaam

Keywords: Underfives, Mother/caretaker, Malaria, and treatment seeking behavior

Abstract

This study was conducted to explore on the medication mothers/caretakers gave to the under 5 years children before they are admitted at the hospital and to find out the treatment seeking behavior of their mothers/caretakers when they felt that the children were sick. The study took place in a conveniently selected district hospital, Amana hospital, in Ilala district, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. The study involved a systematic sampling of 105 mothers/caretakers of children less than five years of age admitted at the hospital. The data was collected using a guided questionnaire then analyzed by Computer software Epi Info 97 version 6.04.
Fifty-nine (59) out of 105 under five children admitted at Amana Hospital were males and 46 were females. The age group between 1 and 15 months had the highest percentage (54.3%) of admission than all other age groups, while the age group between 31 to 45 months had the lowest (10.5%). Chloroquine (CQ) was the most frequently used drug (39.8%), followed by the paracetamol at (31.1%). Mothers/ caretakers used chloroquine and paracetamol at home at percentages of 83.3% and 91.5% respectively. The prevalence of those who used drugs before admission has been found to be 88.6%,(n=93). Fever was the major cause for admission (46.6%), followed by diarrhoea and cough (10.4% each), then vomiting (9.2%). Of the admitted children, (73.2%) were diagnosed clinically to have malaria, while 10.2% were found to have gastroenteritis and 9.4% were found to have pneumonia. The malaria prevalence decreased with age, but statistically insignificant. (p>.05). The disease was more prevalent among Males (55.9%) than their female counterparts, but with no significant differences (p> 0.05). The study further found that mothers/caretakers seek treatment for their children from retail pharmacies (47.3%) followed by shops (21.5%) and medical stores (17.2%).
In conclusion, the findings support other studies, which have shown that medication to underfives prior to consultation at health facilities is very common and it has to be inquired when taking history to avoid over dosage.