{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,12]],"date-time":"2025-10-12T02:12:34Z","timestamp":1760235154525,"version":"build-2065373602"},"reference-count":57,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"15","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2021,7,21]],"date-time":"2021-07-21T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1626825600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Makerere University-SIDA Project","award":["SE-0-SE-6-5118006001-UGA-43082"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["SE-0-SE-6-5118006001-UGA-43082"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["IJERPH"],"abstract":"<jats:p>In Uganda, &gt;50% of sick children receive treatment from primary level-private health facilities (HF). We assessed the appropriateness of care for common infections in under-five-year-old children and explored perspectives of healthcare workers (HCW) and policymakers on the quality of healthcare at low-level private health facilities (LLPHF) in western Uganda. This was a mixed-methods parallel convergent study. Employing multistage consecutive sampling, we selected 110 HF and observed HCW conduct 777 consultations of children with pneumonia, malaria, diarrhea or neonatal infections. We purposively selected 30 HCW and 8 policymakers for in-depth interviews. Care was considered appropriate if assessment, diagnosis, and treatment were correct. We used univariable and multivariable logistic regression analyses for quantitative data and deductive thematic analysis for qualitative data. The proportion of appropriate care was 11% for pneumonia, 14% for malaria, 8% for diarrhea, and 0% for neonatal infections. Children with danger signs were more likely to receive appropriate care. Children with diarrhea or ability to feed orally were likely to receive inappropriate care. Qualitative data confirmed care given as often inappropriate, due to failure to follow guidelines. Overall, sick children with common infections were inappropriately managed at LLPHF. Technical support and provision of clinical guidelines should be increased to LLPHF.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ijerph18157742","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2021,7,21]],"date-time":"2021-07-21T11:53:23Z","timestamp":1626868403000},"page":"7742","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":2,"title":["Appropriateness of Care for Common Childhood Infections at Low-Level Private Health Facilities in a Rural District in Western Uganda"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"18","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6738-477X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Juliet","family":"Mwanga-Amumpaire","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, Mbarara University of Science and Technology, Mbarara P.O. Box 1410, Uganda"},{"name":"Clinical Epidemiology Unit, College of Health Sciences, Makerere University, Kampala P.O. Box 7062, Uganda"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2328-3512","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Tobias","family":"Alfv\u00e9n","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Global Public Health, Karolinska Institutet, 171 77 Solna, Sweden"},{"name":"Sachs\u2019 Children and Youth Hospital, 118 83 Stockholm, Sweden"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Celestino","family":"Obua","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, Mbarara University of Science and Technology, Mbarara P.O. Box 1410, Uganda"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Karin","family":"K\u00e4llander","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Global Public Health, Karolinska Institutet, 171 77 Solna, Sweden"},{"name":"Programme Division, Health Section, UNICEF, New York, NY 10017, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1709-9521","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Richard","family":"Migisha","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, Mbarara University of Science and Technology, Mbarara P.O. Box 1410, Uganda"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6525-1861","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Cecilia","family":"St\u00e5lsby Lundborg","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Global Public Health, Karolinska Institutet, 171 77 Solna, Sweden"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5557-2733","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Grace","family":"Ndeezi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pediatrics and Child Health, College of Health Sciences, Makerere University, Kampala P.O. Box 7062, Uganda"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Joan Nakayaga","family":"Kalyango","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Clinical Epidemiology Unit, College of Health Sciences, Makerere University, Kampala P.O. Box 7062, Uganda"},{"name":"Department of Pharmacy, College of Health Sciences, Makerere University, Kampala P.O. Box 7062, Uganda"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2021,7,21]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","unstructured":"UNICEF, WHO, World Bank Group, and United Nations (2020). Levels and Trends in Child Mortality 2020, United Nations Population Division. Estimates Developed by the UN Inter-Agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation."},{"key":"ref_2","unstructured":"World Health Organization (2016). World Health Statistics 2016: Monitoring Health for the SDGs Sustainable Development Goals, World Health Organization."},{"key":"ref_3","unstructured":"United Nations Children\u2019s Fund (2018). UNICEF Data: Monitoring the Situation of Children and Women, UNICEF. 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