Care pathways for critically ill children aged 0-5 years arriving at district hospitals in Burkina Faso, Guinea, Mali, and Niger (2022): a cross-sectional study.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Under-five mortality remains high in West Africa, where sick children are expected to first attend the primary health care before being referred to a hospital if necessary. However, little is known about how families navigate between home and higher levels of care to meet their children's health needs, despite multiple known barriers (including social, financial, and geographical accessibility). We analysed the care pathways of children aged 0-5 years before they presented to the district hospital with a serious illness and the determinants of these care pathways in four West African countries.

Methods

From May to August 2022, we conducted a cross-sectional study over a one-month data collection in seven district hospitals participating in the AIRE project aimed t

SUBMITTER: Gres E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12613918 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature