Caregiver experiences and healthcare provider perspectives on managing sick young infants in primary care: a qualitative study in Awi Zone, Northwest Ethiopia

Background Ethiopia implemented the community-based management of possible serious bacterial infection to improve access to lifesaving care for sick young infants aged 0–2 months. However, service utilization has been low, and the quality of care was sub-optimal, emphasizing the need to identify challenges within the primary healthcare system. This study explored mothers’ and healthcare providers’ experiences and perspectives on the management of sick young infants, including those with possible serious bacterial infections to inform policy and practice. Methods We conducted a qualitative study including 25 in-depth and six key informant interviews with purposively selected participants, including mothers seeking facility care for their infants, health extension workers, health center staff, and supervisors of health extension workers. We audio-recorded and transcribed the interviews, and conducted inductive thematic analysis. Results We present four major themes: caregivers’ perceptions of young infant illnesses, caregivers’ choice of place to seek care, caregivers’ experiences with caring for sick young infants at the health facility, and factors affecting the provision of quality care. Mothers acknowledged the need to seek care if their young infants became ill, although often delayed when not recognizing signs of illness, believing that it would resolve. Once identified, they had the autonomy to seek care but lacked awareness of health post services, bypassing these and seeking care at health centers, which were further away. Health extension workers viewed poor infrastructure and the perceived low quality of service as being linked to low service utilization at health posts. Mothers described long waiting times at health centers, inadequate assessment, and missing communication about their children’s conditions and treatment. Health extension workers felt they had gaps in knowledge and skills. Inconsistent availability of drugs, weak referral and feedback mechanisms, low-quality supervision, limited mentorship, and inadequate district-level ownership of newborn care constrained the delivery of high-quality services. Conclusions This study identifies the challenges from the community to health system on sick young infants’ service utilization and quality of care at primary healthcare settings. It highlights the importance of a comprehensive approach that integrates demand-creation activities with health system strengthening efforts to ensure the consistent availability of high-quality care.