‘This disease is not meant for the hospital, it is Asram ’: Implications of a traditionally-defined illness on healthcare seeking for children under-5 in rural Ashanti, Ghana

PLOS Global Public Health · 9 authors, 5 centres

AI SUMMARY

FIDELITY 100%

This summary was generated by AI from a single paper. It has not been reviewed by a clinician and is not clinical advice. Verify against the source before acting on it.

AGENT 01 · STRUCTURED SUMMARY

TRACE TO SOURCE

“

TL;DR

This qualitative study investigated the local concept of a traditionally-defined childhood illness called Asram in rural Ghana and found that caregivers' trust in traditional healers as the first point of care leads to delays in seeking appropriate healthcare for sick children.

Full summary

576 CHARS

This qualitative study, conducted from October 2019 to February 2020, used Focus Group Discussions with mothers/caregivers and Key Informant Interviews with caregivers, health workers, and traditional healers in two rural Ghanaian communities to explore perceptions of Asram. The study concludes that Asram acts as a significant barrier to prompt healthcare, potentially hindering child survival efforts and the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 3. Limitations include a lack of generalizability due to the qualitative design and focus on only two rural communities.

STUDY TYPE

other

SPECIALTY

public health

SUMMARISED BY

AI pipeline

FIDELITY CHECK

100% · A

ORIGINAL PAPER

PMC10021330

‘This disease is not meant for the hospital, it is Asram ’: Implications of a traditionally-defined illness on healthcare seeking for children under-5 in rural Ashanti, Ghana

PLOS Global Public Health

READ THE FULL PAPER

ABSTRACT

Every child has the right to survive, grow and develop. However, in spite of the considerable global gains that have been made in child survival, Sub-Saharan Africa still has the highest child mortality rates and accounts for the greatest burden of mortality globally. The majority of these children die without ever reaching a health facility. The practice of appropriate healthcare-seeking behaviour has a great potential to reduce the occurrence of severe and life‐threatening childhood illnesses. Several factors, however, influence healthcare-seeking behaviour, including perceptions of the cause of illness and socio-cultural perspectives. This study seeks to understand local concepts of a traditionally-defined illness complex, Asram , and its influence on healthcare seeking behavior of mothers/caregivers. This qualitative study was conducted from October 2019 to February 2020. Four Focus Group Discussions were conducted with mothers/caregivers of children under-5 and 22 Key Informant Interviews with mothers/caregivers of children who had Asram , health workers at district, facility, and community levels, and Asram healers. Participants were selected from two rural communities, Akutuase and Wioso of the Asante Akim North district in the Ashanti region of Ghana. Data analysis was carried out iteratively throughout data collection, using a thematic analysis approach. The study shows that Asram is a childhood illness complex that is perceived to have been acquired spiritually and/or inherited. Nine types of Asram were described. This childhood illness was said to be treatable by Asram healers who had sub-specialties in treatment approaches that were determined by the Asram type reported. Mothers/caregivers trusted Asram healers and preferred to call on them first. This was found to be the main reason for delays in seeking healthcare for children under-5 who showed symptoms of Asram . Asram is a childhood illness complex that is believed to be better managed outside the health facility setting. This study complements existing knowledge and creates opportunities for further research and the introduction of more effective interventions in the effort to improve child survival in rural communities.

CITATION EXPORT

Princess Ruhama Acheampong, Aliyu Mohammed, Sampson Twumasi-Ankrah et al.. ‘This disease is not meant for the hospital, it is Asram’: Implications of a traditionally-defined illness on healthcare seeking for children under-5 in rural Ashanti, Ghana. PLOS Global Public Health. (2022). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgph.0000978

AUTHORS

9 · 5 CENTRES

Princess Ruhama Acheampong, Aliyu Mohammed, Sampson Twumasi-Ankrah, Augustina Angelina Sylverken, Michael Owusu, Emmanuel Acquah-Gyan, Timothy Kwabena Adjei, Easmon Otupiri, Ellis Owusu-Dabo

1 School of Public Health, College of Health Sciences, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana
2 Department of Statistics and Actuarial Science, College of Science, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana
3 Department of Theoretical and Applied Biology, College of Science, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana
4 Department of Medical Laboratory Technology, College of Science, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana
International Institute for Population Sciences, INDIA

EDITOR / REVIEWER

Nandita Saikia