Table 2.

Reasons listed by the informants for delay in seeking appropriate health care

Ignorance	A caretaker might recognize a sick child but say ‘the child is always like that’ or assume the illness was just a common coldSome mothers gave a sick child left over drugs from previous hospital visits even if the illness was different
Financial	Treatment in the under 5's is free in Kenya, but drugs are not always available in the facilities and caretakers have to buy elsewhere Parenteral drugs might be available but no syringes or needles to administer so caretakers have to purchase them elsewhere
Geographical	Some villages were very far from the government health facilities
Social	Some of the caretakers especially single mothers were busy in their small businesses while some caretakers were drunkards and had no time to take their sick children to the hospitalsSome caretakers
Religious	Some of the caretakers more so from some villages opted to consult spiritual healers first