Ethnomedicinal health seeking practices and their associated treatment outcomes in managing diarrheal diseases among under-five-year-old children in Korogwe and Handeni Districts, Tanzania: Protocol for a cross-sectional mixed method study.

BackgroundEthnomedicinal remedies relevant for treating a range of ailments including diarrheal diseases among children aged less than five years is an integral component of the long-standing culture that communities have inherited from previous generations. The treatment also has mutual impact on the practice of health seeking behavior built within the family and clan level. Study ObjectiveTo assess ethnomedicinal health seeking practices and their associated treatment outcomes for managing diarrheal diseases among children aged below five years children in Korogwe and Handeni Districts, Tanzania MethodsA mixed method approach will be employed whereby both qualitative and quantitative research approaches will be utilized. Narrative and cross-sectional research designs will be used for qualitative and quantitative research, respectively. The study population will include caretakers of under-five-year-old children, pediatric health care workers and traditional healers. Purposive sampling method will be used to select participants for qualitative research while a systematic random sampling will be used to select participants for quantitative research. Social Ecological Model (SEM) theory will be employed to elicit the target population perceptions and context-specific factors, which will explain the ethnomedicinal health seeking practices and their associated treatment outcomes in managing diarrheal diseases among under-five-year-old children in Korogwe and Handeni Districts, Tanzania.