Factors contributing to primary caregiver delay in presenting children with chronic kidney disease for medical care in Ghana

BACKGROUND: Conforming to the 2016 World Kidney Day focus on raising awareness of the early detection of kidney diseases in children, we report on factors that contribute to primary caregiver delay in presenting their children with chronic kidney disease (CKD) for medical care in Kumasi, Ghana. AIM: The objective of the study was to explore and describe the factors that contribute to primary caregiver delay in presenting children with CKD for medical care in Kumasi, Ghana. SETTING: The study was conducted in the Paediatric Renal Unit in Kumasi, Ghana. METHODS: A qualitative study was conducted in January 2017. Semi-structured interviews were used to collect data from a convenience sample of 10 primary caregivers whose children were admitted for CKD, but were not too ill. The primary caregivers had to respond to the research question: What factors contribute to your delay in presenting your child with CKD for medical care? Thematic data analysis and the ecological model of Schneider (2017) were used to organise the findings. RESULTS: Four themes and related subthemes, including intrapersonal-related factors, interpersonal-related factors, community-related factors and infrastructural factors were identified as those that contribute to delay in presenting children with CKD for medical care. CONCLUSION: The findings show that primary prevention strategies for CKD in children should not only focus on personal-related factors but also cut across all levels of the socio-ecological model in order for them to be effective.