Child Health and Immunization

Care for Pneumonia

Caregivers appropriately manage care for signs and symptoms of ARI in children

Prompt and appropriate care seeking for ARI could prevent over 900,000 deaths of children under five every year.1UNICEF MICS
United Nations Children's Fund 
This is an occasional behavior that needs to be practiced without hesitation at the onset of infection danger signs.

Key Points from Global Research

  • Successfully improving poor community-based diagnosis and treatment can increase prompt care seeking in households with children under five.
  • Helping caregivers understand the symptoms and seriousness of pneumonia in children under five can encourage them to seek care.

Behavior Profile Sample: Care for Pneumonia

A Behavior Profile is a summary analysis of each behavior. This sample draws from global evidence and illustrates the result of using the Create Behavior Profiles Tool to analyze factors, supporting actors and strategies and to ensure logical pathways exist between strategies proposed and factors related to the practice of the behavior. This sample may be used as a starting point or reference for creating Behavior Profiles. 

Create Behavior Profiles

Improve maternal and child survival
Caregivers appropriately manage care for signs and symptoms of ARI in children
Indicator: Percentage of children born in the five years preceding the survey with acute respiratory infection taken to a health facility

Behavior Analysis

Strategy

STEPS

What steps are needed to practice this behavior?
  1. Recognize signs and symptoms of ARI
  2. Mobilize transport, resources, and logistics
  3. Obtain appropriate diagnosis and treatment from a qualified provider
  4. Adhere to full course of prescribed treatment
  5. Continue or increase breastfeeding appropriate for age
  6. Continue other fluids and feeding as possible during illness
  7. Provide extra food according to age for at least 2 weeks following illness

Click on any box
        to see the pathwaysA pathway illustrates how elements in the Behavior Profile are linked. When read from right to left, a pathway highlights how strategies are expected to address the factors to enable adoption of the Accelerator Behavior.  
        of the behavior.

FACTORS

What factors may prevent or support practice of this behavior? These should be analyzed for each country context.
Structural
Accessibility: Caregivers cannot obtain care for pneumonia because facilities are often far from households and easy transportation is unavailable
Accessibility: Caregivers cannot obtain care for pneumonia because services and treatment options are often unaffordable
Service Experience: Caregivers are discouraged from seeking care for pneumonia because facilities are often poorly equipped, poorly supplied, or poorly staffed
Social
Family and Community Support: Caregivers do not seek care from a health facility for children with pneumonia because they often lack support from a spouse or other influential social actors
Norms: Caregivers do not seek care for pneumonia at a health facility because cultural beliefs often discourage it
Internal
Attitudes and Beliefs: Caregivers do not seek care for pneumonia at a health facility because they often do not perceive the illness as serious enough to require it
Knowledge: Caregivers do not seek care for pneumonia at a health facility because they do not know the symptoms and danger signs of ARI

SUPPORTING ACTORS AND ACTIONS

Who must support the practice of this behavior?
Institutional
Policymakers: Formulate national policy to provide free treatment for children under five
Logistics Personnel: Proactively monitor stock levels and forecast needed medical supplies and drugs
Community
Community Leaders: Establish community transport schemes for urgent careseeking
Household
Family Members: Encourage caregivers to seek treatment with trained health providers at onset of symptoms

POSSIBLE PROGRAM STRATEGIES

How might we focus our efforts based on this analysis?
Enabling Environment
Policies and Governance: Formulate national policy to provide free treatment for children under five
Policies and Governance: Formulate policies that ensure community involvement in how health care facilities are staffed and supervised
Systems, Products and Services
Quality Improvement: Train and equip village health workers to diagnose and treat pneumonia
Quality Improvement: Train private pharmacies to recognize and appropriately treat or refer children with symptoms of pneumonia
Demand and Use
Communication: Utilize all well-child health touchpoints to work with mothers and families on the recognition of symptoms of childhood illness, including ARI and the need for immediate care-seeking
Skills Building: Train and equip community and religious leaders to facilitate careseeking through community mobilization and transport or financing schemes

Global Status of Accelerator Behavior

Indicator: Percentage of children born in the five years preceding the survey with acute respiratory infection taken to a health facility

The DHS Program Indicator Data API, The Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) Program