Healthcare-seeking Pattern of Rural Mozambican Mothers in the Aftermath of 15 Years Protracted Civil War: A Multistage Cluster Sampling Study

Study objectives : Reports on perception and healthcare-seeking pattern of Mozambican mothers in the aftermath of 15 years protracted civil war are missing; which, might over/underrate health programs assessing changes or evaluating success in rural Mozambique. This study aimed to: (i) assess the knowledge and perception of mothers on mother and child illnesses in rural communities of Mozambique in the aftermath of 15 years long civil war, (ii) estimate the prevalence of mother and child illnesses in affected communities, (iii) examine and compare proportions of mother healthcare seeking practices for mother and child illnesses among existing facilities. Methods: Clusters sampling approach was used to select 300 households. Proportions of mothers were estimated by types of assistance received at birth of their youngest child. The prevalence of diarrhea, malaria and ARI were assessed including percentages of mothers who recognized symptoms and causalities of these illnesses. Mothers’ healthcare seeking practices among available sources were examined and, compared between groups/subgroups. Results: While mothers had no problem identifying symptoms of maternal and child illnesses, they all believed that illnesses had natural and/or supernatural causalities. Proportion of mothers who sought healthcare exclusively from traditional healer (curandeiros) exceeded 40% in every illness studied but was relatively higher in illnesses linked to supernatural causalities. Conclusions: These findings suggest while curandeiros were the main healthcare providers in the area, there is potential for effective use of existing healthcare services. Intervention programs aiming at improving the use of healthcare services in cultural communities should address superstitious perceptions of disease causations.