Rural mothers' beliefs and practices about diagnosis, treatment, and management of children health problems: A qualitative study in marginalized Southern Pakistan
IntroductionAppropriate health-seeking beliefs and practices are indispensable for the survival and development of children. In this study, we explore childcare beliefs and practices of rural mothers and analyze the different ways childhood illness is diagnosed and managed in a marginalized rural co...
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2023-01-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Public Health |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2022.1001668/full |
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| author | Farooq Ahmed Farooq Ahmed Najma Iqbal Malik Sidra Zia Abdul Samad Akbar Xiaoyu Li Muhammad Shahid Muhammad Shahid Muhammad Shahid Kun Tang |
| author_facet | Farooq Ahmed Farooq Ahmed Najma Iqbal Malik Sidra Zia Abdul Samad Akbar Xiaoyu Li Muhammad Shahid Muhammad Shahid Muhammad Shahid Kun Tang |
| author_sort | Farooq Ahmed |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | IntroductionAppropriate health-seeking beliefs and practices are indispensable for the survival and development of children. In this study, we explore childcare beliefs and practices of rural mothers and analyze the different ways childhood illness is diagnosed and managed in a marginalized rural community in Southern Pakistan.MethodsUsing purposive sampling, in-depth interviews are conducted to obtain qualitative data from 20 illiterate and rural mothers in addition to 15 healthcare providers in the district Rajanpur of South Punjab.Results and discussionThe findings reveal that rural mothers' access to healthcare and therapeutic programs is impeded due to geographical isolation, structural inequalities, poverty, and illiteracy. Consequently, evil eyes, witchcraft, and spirits are recognized as potential threats to children's health and nutrition. Therefore, the treatment of childhood morbidity and malnutrition is mostly performed with folk, domestic, herbal, magico-religious remedies, and spiritual healing methods. The current study also highlights that many low-income and rural mothers tend to normalize childhood illness when they become unable to advocate for their children's health and nutrition. Besides improving low-income mothers' access to healthcare facilities, health education and risk communication at the field level through field health staff could be most effective for health promotion. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T01:08:17Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-27d634776cba4ffc8f1ac1e7df05aaf9 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2296-2565 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T01:08:17Z |
| publishDate | 2023-01-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Public Health |
| spelling | doaj.art-27d634776cba4ffc8f1ac1e7df05aaf92023-01-04T10:54:01ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Public Health2296-25652023-01-011010.3389/fpubh.2022.10016681001668Rural mothers' beliefs and practices about diagnosis, treatment, and management of children health problems: A qualitative study in marginalized Southern PakistanFarooq Ahmed0Farooq Ahmed1Najma Iqbal Malik2Sidra Zia3Abdul Samad Akbar4Xiaoyu Li5Muhammad Shahid6Muhammad Shahid7Muhammad Shahid8Kun Tang9Vanke School of Public Health, Tsinghua University, Beijing, ChinaDepartment of Anthropology, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, PakistanDepartment of Psychology, University of Sargodha, Sargodha, Punjab, PakistanVanke School of Public Health, Tsinghua University, Beijing, ChinaDepartment of Anthropology, Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Bahawalpur, Punjab, PakistanSchool of Mathematics and Information Science, Xiangnan University, Chenzhou, Hunan, ChinaVanke School of Public Health, Tsinghua University, Beijing, ChinaSchool of Insurance and Economics, University of International Business and Economics (UIBE), Beijing, ChinaWorld Health Organization Sub-office, Peshawar, PakistanVanke School of Public Health, Tsinghua University, Beijing, ChinaIntroductionAppropriate health-seeking beliefs and practices are indispensable for the survival and development of children. In this study, we explore childcare beliefs and practices of rural mothers and analyze the different ways childhood illness is diagnosed and managed in a marginalized rural community in Southern Pakistan.MethodsUsing purposive sampling, in-depth interviews are conducted to obtain qualitative data from 20 illiterate and rural mothers in addition to 15 healthcare providers in the district Rajanpur of South Punjab.Results and discussionThe findings reveal that rural mothers' access to healthcare and therapeutic programs is impeded due to geographical isolation, structural inequalities, poverty, and illiteracy. Consequently, evil eyes, witchcraft, and spirits are recognized as potential threats to children's health and nutrition. Therefore, the treatment of childhood morbidity and malnutrition is mostly performed with folk, domestic, herbal, magico-religious remedies, and spiritual healing methods. The current study also highlights that many low-income and rural mothers tend to normalize childhood illness when they become unable to advocate for their children's health and nutrition. Besides improving low-income mothers' access to healthcare facilities, health education and risk communication at the field level through field health staff could be most effective for health promotion.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2022.1001668/fullbeliefs practiceshealth-seekingmagico-religiousrural mothersPakistan |
| spellingShingle | Farooq Ahmed Farooq Ahmed Najma Iqbal Malik Sidra Zia Abdul Samad Akbar Xiaoyu Li Muhammad Shahid Muhammad Shahid Muhammad Shahid Kun Tang Rural mothers' beliefs and practices about diagnosis, treatment, and management of children health problems: A qualitative study in marginalized Southern Pakistan Frontiers in Public Health beliefs practices health-seeking magico-religious rural mothers Pakistan |
| title | Rural mothers' beliefs and practices about diagnosis, treatment, and management of children health problems: A qualitative study in marginalized Southern Pakistan |
| title_full | Rural mothers' beliefs and practices about diagnosis, treatment, and management of children health problems: A qualitative study in marginalized Southern Pakistan |
| title_fullStr | Rural mothers' beliefs and practices about diagnosis, treatment, and management of children health problems: A qualitative study in marginalized Southern Pakistan |
| title_full_unstemmed | Rural mothers' beliefs and practices about diagnosis, treatment, and management of children health problems: A qualitative study in marginalized Southern Pakistan |
| title_short | Rural mothers' beliefs and practices about diagnosis, treatment, and management of children health problems: A qualitative study in marginalized Southern Pakistan |
| title_sort | rural mothers beliefs and practices about diagnosis treatment and management of children health problems a qualitative study in marginalized southern pakistan |
| topic | beliefs practices health-seeking magico-religious rural mothers Pakistan |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2022.1001668/full |
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