<ArticleSet>
<Article>
<Journal>
<PublisherName></PublisherName>
<JournalTitle>International Journal of Preventive Medicine</JournalTitle>
<Issn>2008-7802</Issn>
<Volume>3</Volume>
<Issue>1</Issue>
<PubDate>
<Year>2011</Year>
<Month>08</Month>
<Day>28</Day>
</PubDate>
</Journal>
<ArticleTitle>Patterns of Care Seeking During Episodes of Childhood Diarrhea and its Relation to Preventive Care Patterns: National Integrated Monitoring and Evaluation Survey (IMES) of Family Health. Islamic Republic of Iran</ArticleTitle>
<FirstPage>329</FirstPage>
<LastPage>329</LastPage>
<Language>EN</Language>
<AuthorList>
<Author>
<FirstName>Mohammad Esmail</FirstName>
<LastName>Motlagh</LastName>
</Author>
<Author>
<FirstName>Abtin</FirstName>
<LastName>Heidarzadeh</LastName>
<Affiliation>Associate Professor, Department of Community Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Guilan University, Rasht, Iran.. Abtinh@gmail.com</Affiliation>
</Author>
<Author>
<FirstName>Houman</FirstName>
<LastName>Hashemian</LastName>
</Author>
<Author>
<FirstName>Mehrnaz</FirstName>
<LastName>Dosstdar</LastName>
</Author>
</AuthorList>
<History>
<PubDate>
<Year>2011</Year>
<Month>08</Month>
<Day>26</Day>
</PubDate>
<PubDate>
<Year>2011</Year>
<Month>08</Month>
<Day>26</Day>
</PubDate>
</History>
<Abstract>Background: In Iran, diarrheal disease is the fourth cause of &nbsp;under five‑year mortality. Proper care‑seeking behavior and system‑based disease management in the national field will have a great effect in reducing morbidity and mortality.Methods: This nationwide study was performed on a target population of&nbsp; rural and urban communities; in all 31 provinces of the Islamic Republic of&nbsp; Iran. One lakh three thousand three hundred and thirty one (103331) families were sampled by multi‑stage stratifed random sampling and were interviewed with a standard data collection form. The collected data was entered into the Stata&nbsp; 8.0 software and analyzed by the survey analysis method.Results: Of&nbsp; the 14625&nbsp; (10.1%) children who were reported to have diarrheal diseases two weeks prior to the interview, 8.8% were cured and 1.5% were not. About 70% of&nbsp; them had at least one visit for health seeking the most of&nbsp; patients were seen by a rural health worker (Behvarz) in the rural and by a general pediatrician in the urban areas. About 62% of&nbsp; the patients in urban and 57% in the rural areas had been treated with antibiotics and these rates for ORS were 51% and 65%, respectively. The factors most related to a care‑seeking pattern were the level of routine preventive well‑child care, number of&nbsp; siblings, child age, and living area.Conclusion: According to this national survey, our health system needs to integrate all the levels of&nbsp; prevention, especially the Integrated Management of&nbsp; Child Illnesses (IMCI) programs with a family physician project. Futher more, there is a great need for empowering the referral system and gate keeping in all referral levels, to make efficient national integrated programs.Keywords: Diarrhea, antibiotic, health service, national survey, preventive child care, referral system, Iran</Abstract>
</Article>
</ArticleSet>