Fostered children's perception of their health care and illness treatment in Ekiti Yoruba households, Nigeria

Abstract

This paper reports the findings from both quantitative and qualitative fieldwork conducted in six Ekiti Yoruba communities of southwestern Nigeria on the treatment of child illness within households. Relying heavily on data from focus group discussions, it shows how fostered children use local proverbs and day-to-day common sayings to describe their perception of the responses to and treatment of their illnesses in a very different way from that of the foster parents. Parents’ responses and treatment of fostered and non-fostered children’s illnesses were compared. Both the qualitative and quantitative evidence from the study showed that treatments were delayed for foster-children in comparison to own children, and foster-parents were found to be less sensitive to foster-child illness, which they often suspected was used to avoid housework. The different responses to, and treatment of, foster-children’s illnesses are important for the understanding of the probable effects on differential morbidity, and possibly mortality, between fostered and nonfostered children.