Applied Research and Evaluation WHY ACTIONS FOR EARLY TREATMENT OF FEBRILE ILLNESSES IN CHILDREN ARE DELAYED BY CAREGIVERS* OYEDUNNI S. ARULOGUN JOSHUA D. ADENIYI University of Ibadan, Nigeria SOLA ASA CALEB A. ADEGBENRO Obafemi Awolowo University Ile-Ife, Nigeria ABSTRACT The study explored why actions for early treatment of febrile illnesses in children are delayed by caregivers of children less than five years in five Local Government Areas (LGAs) of southwestern Nigeria using four indi- cators: caregivers’ perception of illness, notion of causation and seriousness, belief in efficacy of selected pathway, and the decision making process. Seven types of febrile illnesses (yellow fever, typhoid fever, ordinary fever/malaria, hot body fever, rain fever, cold fever, and headache fever) were *The study received financial support from WHO/TRR/MIM/Africa research capability strengthening Grant ID 980048. Int’l. Quarterly of Community Health Education, Vol. 32(3) 219-231, 2011-2012 Ó 2012, Baywood Publishing Co., Inc. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.2190/IQ.32.3.e http://baywood.com 219