Proportion of children under 5 years with acute respiratory infection taken to a health facility

Maternal, newborn, child & adolescent health

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Indicator Metadata Registry List

Indicator name: 
 Children with suspected pneumonia taken to an appropriate health provider (%) 
Short name: 
 Careseeking ARI 
Data type: 
 Percent 
Indicator Id: 
 4737 

                            Topic:
                        

                                Health service coverage
                            

Rationale:

Acute respiratory infections (ARI) are a leading cause of deaths of children aged less than 5 years worldwide. Appropriate care of the sick child is defined as providers that can correctly diagnose and treat pneumonia. The proportion of under-fives with ARI that are taken to an appropriate health-care provider is therefore a key indicator for coverage of intervention and care-seeking, and provides critical inputs to the monitoring of progress towards child survival-related Sustainable Development Goals and related strategies.

Definition:

Percentage of children under 5 years of age with symptoms of pneumonia (cough and difficult breathing NOT due to a problem in the chest and a blocked nose) in the two weeks preceding the survey taken to an appropriate health facility or provider.

Disaggregation:

Location (urban/rural), Education level : Maternal education, Wealth : Wealth quintile, Sex

Method of measurement

Mothers or caregivers of children under five years of age are asked if the child had symptoms of acute respiratory infection (ARI), and if so, whether treatment was sought and where it was sought. During the UNICEF/WHO Meeting on Child Survival Survey-based Indicators, held in New York, USA, on 17–18 June 2004, it was recommended that suspected ARI be described as “presumed pneumonia” to better reflect the probable cause and the recommended interventions. The definition of ARI used in the DHS and MICS was chosen by the group and is based on the mother’s perceptions of a child who has a cough, is breathing faster than usual with short, quick breaths or is having difficulty breathing, excluding children who had only a blocked nose.

M&E Framework:

Output

Method of estimation:

Data are taken from UNICEF database (see link below), which compiled data from household surveys such as Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) and Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS).

Method of estimation of global and regional aggregates:

Population-weighted average.

Other possible data sources:

Facility reporting system

Preferred data sources:

Household surveys

Unit of Measure:

N/A

Unit Multiplier:

Not Applicable

Expected frequency of data dissemination:

Annual

Expected frequency of data collection:

Every 3-5 years

Comments:

The framework for the review of child survival indicators during the UNICEF/WHO Meeting on Child Survival Survey-based Indicators was the set of prevention and treatment interventions outlined in the Lancet series on child survival.

Contact person email:

lcarvajal@unicef.org

Name:

Liliana Carvajal

Links:

Unicef data: pneumonia

Care Seeking Behaviour for Children with Suspected Pneumonia in Countries in Sub-Saharan Africa with High Pneumonia Mortality (Noordam et al, PLOS Med, 2015)