[Health care seeking behavior of children in Togo]

Epidemiological and anthropological studies were carried out in Togo on health seeking behavior for under 5 children to determine causes of dysfunctions in health services. This article reports on the main findings of the anthropological study. Anthropological literature on health seeking behavior has identified labeling and associated explanatory models of illness as important factors for making choices in the use of health services. This study, carried out among 100 families in Togo on health seeking behavior for under-five children, found little difference in the signs and symptoms of illness recalled and the health resources used. Different causal explanations similarly showed little variation in signs and symptoms of illness. The only causal explanation for illness which appeared to correspond to place of recourse was related to social causes, where traditional practitioners were more often consulted. Families explained choices more on the basis of the accessibility and quality of health services (geographical and financial accessibility, reception by health personnel, organization of services, drug availability) than on the basis of the particular signs and symptoms of the illness. Improving the organization and functioning of health services should contribute more to appropriate use of the modern health care sector than interventions targeting user populations, since the latter appear to be aware of the advantages of modern medicine, but find financial, social and organizational features of services unsatisfactory.