Care seeking and management of common childhood illnesses in Tanzania: Questioning the quality of primary care services

Abstract

Mild cases of malaria, pneumonia and diarrhea can be effectively treated with cheap and widely available first-line drugs at the primary care level if care is sought at an early disease stage and the infection is correctly diagnosed and managed by the attending care provider. Tanzania has an extensive network of primary health care (PHC) facilities and substantial child survival gains might result if these facilities could provide quality care and are properly utilized by the populations they are intended to serve. However, several studies have reported poor quality of services at the primary care level in Tanzania and mismanagements of sick children, resulting into some care seekers to bypass such facilities while seeking child care and other health care services. Few studies have explored in-depth, the actual users’ experiences in relation to the reported deficiencies at the primary care level in Tanzania. The current thesis sought to explore PHC utilization for child care and caretakers’ expectations versus experiences from services offered to their underfive children at this level of care.