Authors: Birkety Mengistu, Meron Paulos, Nesibu Agonafir, Agazi Ameha, Hailemariam Legesse, Elizabeth Dankenbring, Mariame Sylla and Nathan P. Miller
The utilization of services to treat newborns and children has been persistently low in Ethiopia, despite being free services provided by Health Extension Workers (HEWs). The authors of this study sought to identify barriers to the uptake of neonatal and child health services and potential solutions to inform the Optimizing the Health Extension Project. Cultural beliefs, misconceptions around the causes of childhood illnesses, and a general lack of understanding of the capacity of HEWs were identified as barriers to demand generation. Supply barriers included drug stock-outs, erratic health post hours and closures, HEWs’ lack of confidence in clinical skills, and under-resourced physical facilities. Misconceptions related to disease causation and risk were highly prevalent and need to be addressed by strengthening the health system to allow for newly introduced services and sustainable impact.
Link: Barriers to the uptake of community-based curative child health services in Ethiopia
Resource Topic: Community Health Workers/Volunteers, Maternal, Newborn and Child Health
Resource Type: Research
Year: 2021
Region: Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA)
Country: Ethiopia
Publisher May Restrict Access: No