scholarly journals Time delays in treatment of snakebite patients in rural Sri Lanka and the need for rapid diagnostic tests

2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (11) ◽  
pp. e0008914
Author(s):  
Anjana Silva ◽  
Jiri Hlusicka ◽  
Nipuna Siribaddana ◽  
Subodha Waiddyanatha ◽  
Senaka Pilapitiya ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Diagnostic Tests ◽  
Time Delays ◽  
Demographic Data ◽  
Treatment Seeking ◽  
Sri Lankan ◽  
Rapid Diagnostics ◽  
Health Seeking Behaviour ◽  
Health Seeking ◽  
Delayed Treatment ◽  
Transferred Patients

Delays in treatment seeking and antivenom administration remain problematic for snake envenoming. We aimed to describe the treatment seeking pattern and delays in admission to hospital and administration of antivenom in a cohort of authenticated snakebite patients. Adults (> 16 years), who presented with a confirmed snakebite from August 2013 to October 2014 were recruited from Anuradhapura Hospital. Demographic data, information on the circumstances of the bite, first aid, health-seeking behaviour, hospital admission, clinical features, outcomes and antivenom treatment were documented prospectively. There were 742 snakebite patients [median age: 40 years (IQR:27–51; males: 476 (64%)]. One hundred and five (14%) patients intentionally delayed treatment by a median of 45min (IQR:20-120min). Antivenom was administered a median of 230min (IQR:180–360min) post-bite, which didn’t differ between directly admitted and transferred patients; 21 (8%) receiving antivenom within 2h and 141 (55%) within 4h of the bite. However, transferred patients received antivenom sooner after admission to Anuradhapura hospital than those directly admitted (60min [IQR:30-120min] versus 120min [IQR:52-265min; p<0.0001]). A significantly greater proportion of transferred patients had features of systemic envenoming on admission compared to those directly admitted (166/212 [78%] versus 5/43 [12%]; p<0.0001), and had positive clotting tests on admission (123/212 [58%] versus 10/43 [23%]; p<0.0001). Sri Lankan snakebite patients present early to hospital, but there remains a delay until antivenom administration. This delay reflects a delay in the appearance of observable or measurable features of envenoming and a lack of reliable early diagnostic tests. Improved early antivenom treatment will require reliable, rapid diagnostics for systemic envenoming.

scholarly journals An association of knowledge and misconceptions with health seeking behaviour for dog bite: a cross-sectional study in Ahmedabad

2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (7) ◽  
pp. 2592 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arjunkumar Hardas Jakasania ◽  
Farzana Mustufabhai Mansuri ◽  
Grishma Trambaklal Dixit
Keyword(s):  
Primary School ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Treatment Seeking ◽  
Sectional Study ◽  
Health Seeking Behaviour ◽  
Dog Bite ◽  
Health Seeking ◽  
School Teachers ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Primary School Teachers

Background: Rabies is a deadly zoonotic disease and most often transmitted to humans through a dog bite. It is 100% fatal yet 100% preventable with timely and appropriate Post Exposure treatment. There are myths associated with a dog bite and rabies and which might affect the health seeking behaviour. The objectives of the study were to assess the knowledge and misconceptions regarding dog-bite and rabies in primary school teachers and to know the association of misconceptions with health seeking behaviour for dog-bite in the study group.Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 196 teachers of municipality and self-finance primary schools in Ahmedabad city. A pre-tested and pre-designed questionnaire was used to collect data of knowledge & attitude regarding dog-bite/rabies.Results: Out of 196 teachers, 118 teachers will not take ARV injection after bite of a normal looking dog. Many of them have a misconception about ARV injection. 128 teachers will discontinue ARV after a dog bite if any symptoms of Rabies will not develop within 10 days after starting ARV. There is an association found between knowledge regarding rabies and treatment seeking behaviour which was found statistically significant.Conclusions: There is a serious gap in knowledge regarding Rabies in primary school teachers and misconceptions regarding rabies are rampant in most of them. The misconceptions regarding rabies and dog bite found to be affecting the treatment seeking behaviour after dog bite which leads to low compliance to ARV.

Pattern of morbidities of under-5 year children and health seeking behaviour of their mother in rural community of Bangladesh

2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 88-93
Author(s):  
Md. Abu Jafar Sujan ◽  
Muhammad Tareque Hasan ◽  
Bikash Chandra Sah ◽  
Md. Al Amin Khan ◽  
Ishraque Chowdhury ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Rural Community ◽  
Health Seeking Behaviour ◽  
Health Seeking

scholarly journals Assessment of health seeking behaviour and self-medication among general public in the state of Penang, Malaysia

2017 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 991-991 ◽  
Author(s):  
Omar T. Dawood ◽  
Mohamed A. Hassali ◽  
Fahad Saleem ◽  
Inas R. Ibrahim ◽  
Aseel H. Abdulameer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
General Public ◽  
The State ◽  
Health Seeking Behaviour ◽  
Health Seeking ◽  
Self Medication

scholarly journals Parental investment in child health in sub-Saharan Africa: a cross-national study of health-seeking behaviour

2016 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 150460 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caroline Uggla ◽  
Ruth Mace
Keyword(s):  
Health Status ◽  
Child Health ◽  
Birth Order ◽  
Parental Investment ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Health Seeking Behaviour ◽  
Health Seeking ◽  
Investment Theory ◽  
Parental Investment Theory ◽  
Sub Saharan

Parents face trade-offs between investing in child health and other fitness enhancing activities. In humans, parental investment theory has mostly been examined through the analysis of differential child outcomes, with less emphasis on the actions parents take to further a particular offspring’s condition. Here, we make use of household data on health-seeking for children in a high mortality context where such behaviours are crucial for offspring survival. Using Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) data from 17 sub-Saharan African countries, we examine whether maternal factors (age, health, marital status) and child factors (birth order, health, sex, age) independently influence parental investment in health-seeking behaviours: two preventative behaviours (malaria net use and immunization) and two curative ones (treating fever and diarrhoea). Results indicate that children with lower birth order, older mothers and mothers with better health status have higher odds of investment. The effects of a child’s sex and health status and whether the mother is polygynously married vary depending on the type of health-seeking behaviour (preventative versus curative). We discuss how these results square with predictions from parental investment theory pertaining to the state of mothers and children, and reflect on some potential mechanisms and directions for future research.

Liberalising Health-seeking Behaviour of the Johanne Marange Apostolic Sect in Manicaland, Zimbabwe

2021 ◽  
pp. 097206342110652
Author(s):  
Steven Masvaure
Keyword(s):  
Child Health ◽  
Health Outcomes ◽  
Conventional Medicine ◽  
Health Seeking Behaviour ◽  
Health Seeking ◽  
Child Health Outcomes ◽  
Women And Children ◽  
Religious Sects ◽  
And Child Health ◽  
Apostolic Church

Religious rights as enshrined in the Zimbabwean constitution are sacrosanct, however, when church doctrine bars followers from seeking modern medical care, they start infringing on health rights especially of the ‘lesser beings’ the women and children who are members of these religious sects. The ‘lesser beings’ are bearing the brunt of high maternal and neonatal mortality as they depend on unsafe traditional birth attendants and unconventional medicine. This study is ethnographic and presents lessons learnt from a programme aiming to improve maternal, newborn and child health outcomes among the Apostolic Church of Johanne Marange members in Manicaland province, Zimbabwe. The findings show that despite the stringent doctrine and barriers placed on apostolic members who want to access conventional medicine, the women and children are using clandestine approaches to circumvent the doctrine and barriers. This article argues that a barrage of unconventional and conventional approaches can lead to changes in health-seeking behaviour of the apostolic church and ultimately maternal and child health outcomes. The article argues that the intransigence of the apostolic can only be overcome by covert approaches to providing health services and save lives.

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