Browsing by Author "Machongo, Redson"

Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Restricted
    Lived experiences of caregivers of children under the age of five years on antibiotic usage at Zomba Central Hospital, Malawi Version 3
    (Kamuzu University of Health Sciences, 2020-06-02) Machongo, Redson
    Lived experiences of caregivers of children under the age of five years on antibiotic usage at Zomba Central Hospital, Zomba-Malawi. Problem Statement Antibiotic resistance is a global public health issue which is increasing and has implications for morbidity, mortality and health care cost both in hospitals and in the community. Inappropriate use of antibiotics is among the major causes of the global emergency of antibiotic resistance among children. The problem of inappropriate use of antibiotics among children is of special concern because they are still developing immunological systems, hence they are susceptible to many infectious diseases. As such they receive a considerable disproportional amount of antibiotics which exposes them to antibiotics resistance. In response to this problem, this study proposes to investigate the lived experiences of care givers of children under the age of five years on the use of antibiotics at Zomba central hospital in order to improve awareness of population more especially the care givers of under five children about appropriate use of antibiotic, through this study. Aim of the study To explore the lived experiences of caregivers of children under the age of five years on antibiotic usage at Zomba Central Hospital, Zomba-Malawi. Specific objectives 1. To understand perceptions of caregivers of children under the age of five years on antibiotic usage at Zomba central Hospital. 2. To explore practices of caregivers of children under the age of five years on antibiotic usage at Zomba Central Hospital. 3. To determine factors that influence caregivers of children under the age of five years to use antibiotics at Zomba Central Hospital. This is a descriptive cross-section qualitative study with a phenomenological approach to explore the lived experience of caregivers of children under the age of five years on antibiotic usage at Zomba central hospital. The study will use interview guides (Appendix 3) to conduct in-depth interviews among caregivers and health care-workers. We will interview a total of 23 participants so as to capture as much information as possible. These will include 16 care givers of children under the age of five years and 7 health care workers as key informants. Purposive sampling will be used to select the participants from the children’s ward. Interviews will be conducted in English and Chichewa and recorded using a digital recorder. Data will be analysed thematically. Expected findings and their dissemination It is expected that the study will provide information on the lived experiences of caregivers of children under the age of five years on antibiotic usage. Results of this study will be presented at both the institutional and at national level through review meetings, research seminars, conferences coordinated by, COM, MOH, ZCH and other stakeholders. Printed hard copies will be made available to College of Medicine library and COMREC. Finally, we will prepare and submit papers to peer review journals for publication.