COVID-19: Parents’ Healthcare-Seeking Behaviour for their Sick Children in Nigeria - An Online Survey

Introduction: The current COVID-19 pandemic has greatly affected the wellbeing of children, either directly or through the effects of the response. Measures are in place to curb the spread of the virus in Nigeria, but little is known of the effect these stringent measures have on the healthcare-seeking behaviour of parents for their sick children.

Aim: This survey sought to describe parents’ healthcare-seeking behaviour for their sick children during the COVID-19 lockdown in Nigeria.

Study Design: Descriptive cross-sectional.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among Nigerian parents with children less than 18 years of age, via an online Google doc questionnaire administered through WhatsApp instant messaging. Using snowball sampling technique, 260 respondents from affected Nigerian states were recruited over one month. Chi-square tested differences between variables in assessing if healthcare-seeking behaviour was affected; statistical significance level was set at p-value <0.05.

Results: The median age was 38 years (IQR:9); 155 (59.7%) were females, 167 (64.2%) had tertiary education, while 83 (31.9%) had low income. Half (50%) of the respondents cited that the lockdown had affected their healthcare-seeking behaviour for their sick children; this did not significantly differ by geopolitical zone of residence (χ2=3.90, p-value=0.42), and other variables. Thirty-seven 37 (14.3%) agreed their children couldn’t get routine immunizations as scheduled.
Conclusion: The COVID-19 pandemic lockdown considerably affected parents’ healthcare-seeking behaviour for their sick children in Nigeria. Contextual strategies aimed at health system strengthening and improved accessibility are needed to mitigate the effect of COVID-19 on parental access and utilization of healthcare facilities.