Perceived Causes of Illness Among Infants and Young Children in Bangladesh: An Exploratory Qualitative Study
Md Fakhar Uddin1,2, Asma-Ul-Husna Sumi1, Akash Saha1
1Nutrition Research Division, International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b), G.P.O. Box 128, Dhaka 1000, Bangladesh.
Insights
Child illness in Bangladesh stems from multifaceted individual, socio-cultural, economic, and environmental factors. Addressing these requires comprehensive strategies including caregiver education and improved living conditions.
Area of Science:
- Global Health
- Pediatrics
- Sociology
Background:
- Child illness is a major public health issue in low- and middle-income countries like Bangladesh.
- Causes are complex and extend beyond biomedical factors, impacting child health outcomes.
- Understanding caregiver and provider perspectives is crucial for effective interventions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore perceived causes of child illness.
- To investigate perspectives of caregivers and healthcare providers.
- To identify factors contributing to child morbidity in rural and urban Bangladesh.
Main Methods:
- Qualitative study design.
- In-depth interviews with 23 primary caregivers, grandmothers, and healthcare providers.
- Group discussion with four community representatives.
Main Results:
- Identified four categories of perceived causes: individual, socio-cultural, economic, and environmental.
- Individual factors: maternal health, knowledge gaps, poor hygiene, and missed vaccinations.
- Socio-cultural factors: supernatural beliefs, domestic violence, early marriage, and maternal workload.
- Economic factors: income instability, food prices, and unhealthy product marketing.
- Environmental factors: poor housing, waste management, pollution, and water contamination.
Conclusions:
- Child illness arises from complex interactions of individual, socio-cultural, economic, and environmental determinants.
- Interventions should be comprehensive, addressing caregiver education, maternal empowerment, economic support, and environmental improvements.
- Holistic approaches are necessary to reduce child illness burden in Bangladesh.
Background And Objective:
Child illness remains a significant public health challenge in low- and middle-income countries, including Bangladesh, with complex multifactorial causes extending beyond biomedical factors. This qualitative study explored perceived causes of child illness from the perspectives of caregivers and healthcare providers in rural and urban Bangladesh.
Methods:
Twenty-three in-depth interviews with primary caregivers, grandmothers, healthcare providers, and a group discussion with four community representatives revealed four primary categories of perceived illness causes.
Results:
Individual causes included maternal illness, forgetfulness, and knowledge gaps that affected caregiving practices, leading to missed vaccinations, poor hygiene and feeding practices. Socio-cultural causes included supernatural beliefs, intra-household power dynamics, domestic violence, maternal work burdens, early marriage, adolescent motherhood, and dowry practices. Economic causes included irregular income, rising food prices, and marketing of unhealthy products. Environmental causes included poor housing ventilation, inadequate waste management, heat wave exposure, urban air pollution, and water contamination, causing respiratory and waterborne diseases.
Conclusions:
These findings illustrate that child illness results from complex interactions between individual, socio-cultural, economic, and environmental causes. Potential interventions can address these multifaceted causes through comprehensive approaches including caregiver education, maternal empowerment strategies, economic support programs, and household environment improvements.
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