Management of Childhood Illness at Health Facilities in Benin: Problems and Their Causes
Alexander K. Rowe, MD, MPH,
Faustin Onikpo, MD, MPH,
Marcel Lama, MD, MPH,
Francois Cokou, Its and
Michael S. Deming, MD, MPH
Alexander K. Rowe and Michael S. Deming are with the International Child Survival and Emerging Infections Program Support Activity, Division of Parasitic Diseases, National Center for Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Ga. Faustin Onikpo is with the Direction Départementale de la Santé Publique de l'Ouémé, Porto Novo, Benin. Marcel Lama and Francois Cokou are with AfricareBenin, Porto Novo, Benin.
Correspondence: Requests for reprints should be sent to Alexander K. Rowe, MD, MPH, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Mailstop F22, 4770 Buford Hwy, Atlanta, GA 30341-3724 (e-mail: axr9{at}cdc.gov).
Objectives. To prepare for the implementation of IntegratedManagement of Childhood Illness (IMCI) in Benin, we studiedthe management of ill children younger than 5 years at outpatienthealth facilities.
Methods. We observed a representative sample of consultations;after each consultation, we interviewed caregivers and reexaminedchildren. Health workers' performance was evaluated againstIMCI guidelines. To identify determinants of performance, statisticalmodeling was performed and 6 focus groups with health workerswere conducted to solicit their opinions.
Results. Altogether, 584 children were enrolled and 101 healthworkers were observed; 130 health workers participated in focusgroup discussions. Many serious deficiencies were found: incompleteassessment of children's signs and symptoms, incorrect diagnosisand treatment of potentially life-threatening illnesses, inappropriateprescription of dangerous sedatives, missed opportunities tovaccinate, and failure to refer severely ill children for hospitalization.Quantitative and qualitative analyses showed various healthfacility, health worker, caregiver-, and child-relatedfactors as possible determinants of health worker performance.
Conclusions. Action is urgently needed. Our results suggestthat to improve health care delivery, interventions should targetboth the health system and the community level.
This article has been cited by other articles:
A. K Rowe, F. Onikpo, M. Lama, and M. S Deming The rise and fall of supervision in a project designed to strengthen supervision of Integrated Management of Childhood Illness in Benin
Health Policy Plan.,
November 18, 2009;
(2009)
czp054v1.
[Abstract][Full Text][PDF]
A. K. Rowe, F. Onikpo, M. Lama, D. M. Osterholt, S. Y. Rowe, and M. S. Deming A Multifaceted Intervention to Improve Health Worker Adherence to Integrated Management of Childhood Illness Guidelines in Benin
Am J Public Health,
May 1, 2009;
99(5):
837 - 846.
[Abstract][Full Text][PDF]
J. F. Naimoli, A. K. Rowe, A. Lyaghfouri, R. Larbi, and L. A. Lamrani Effect of the Integrated Management of Childhood Illness strategy on health care quality in Morocco
Int. J. Qual. Health Care,
April 1, 2006;
18(2):
134 - 144.
[Abstract][Full Text][PDF]
E. Boonstra, M. Lindbaek, and E. Ngome Adherence to management guidelines in acute respiratory infections and diarrhoea in children under 5 years old in primary health care in Botswana
Int. J. Qual. Health Care,
June 1, 2005;
17(3):
221 - 227.
[Abstract][Full Text][PDF]
D Zurovac, A. Rowe, S. Ochola, A. Noor, B Midia, M English, and R. Snow Predictors of the quality of health worker treatment practices for uncomplicated malaria at government health facilities in Kenya
Int. J. Epidemiol.,
October 1, 2004;
33(5):
1080 - 1091.
[Abstract][Full Text][PDF]
A. Wagstaff, F. Bustreo, J. Bryce, M. Claeson, and the Who-World Bank Child Health and Poverty Workin Child Health: Reaching the Poor
Am J Public Health,
May 1, 2004;
94(5):
726 - 736.
[Abstract][Full Text][PDF]
A. K Rowe, F. Onikpo, M. Lama, and M. S Deming Risk and protective factors for two types of error in the treatment of children with fever at outpatient health facilities in Benin
Int. J. Epidemiol.,
April 1, 2003;
32(2):
296 - 303.
[Abstract][Full Text][PDF]
H. L. Smits, S. Leatherman, and D. M. Berwick Quality improvement in the developing world
Int. J. Qual. Health Care,
December 1, 2002;
14(6):
439 - 440.
[Full Text][PDF]
A. K. Rowe, M. Lama, F. Onikpo, and M. S. Deming Design effects and intraclass correlation coefficients from a health facility cluster survey in Benin
Int. J. Qual. Health Care,
December 1, 2002;
14(6):
521 - 523.
[Full Text][PDF]