Socio-economic and gender gradient in health-seeking behaviours for children from rural poor families in Egypt

Background: Socio-economic determinants of health-seeking behaviour remain unexplored among poor families in middle-income countries.
Objective: To examine socio-economic determinants of health-seeking behaviour for children under 5-years with diarrhoea or cough from rural Egyptian families, by developing a comprehensive measurement of socio-economic position (SEP) encompassing parental education and occupation, dwelling characteristics and household assets.
Methods: Latent variable modelling to construct SEP. Multivariate logistic regression of SEP and progression in three consecutive steps of health-seeking behaviour for each disease, with attention to child gender and age.
Findings: A third of children had diarrhoea and two thirds cough in the preceding month. More than 80% of children with either symptom received care, of which more than half was from private providers. Male gender was associated with higher likelihood of seeking care for cough and with higher expenses for care in both illnesses. No single component of SEP determined progression in three steps of health-seeking behaviours. Further examination of association with latent SEP is required.
Conclusion: Understanding the association between SEP and health-seeking behaviours among poor families is crucial to designing policy to reduce socio-economic gradient.