Determinants and pathways of healthcare-seeking behaviours in under-5 children for common childhood illnesses and antibiotic prescribing: a cohort study in rural India.

In our rural cohort for many acute episodes of illnesses, no treatment or home treatment was done, which resulted in overall reduced antibiotic prescribing. The most common healthcare-seeking pathway was to visit IHCPs, which indicates that they are major healthcare providers in rural areas. Most of the antibiotics were prescribed by IHCPs and were commonly prescribed for illnesses where they were not indicated.