Qualitative analysis of health literacy: exploring a Kenyan community's response to childhood illness.

Parents are the first-line healthcare providers for their children and, thus, need to identify and treat symptoms, including knowing whether and how to seek treatment from healthcare professionals. In addition to the tangible resources necessary to address childhood illness, parents' health literacy skills impact their treatment decisions. The current study considered data gathered through focus groups (N = 9 groups) and key informant interviews (N = 13) to explore approaches to childhood illness and their implications for health literacy among Kenyan parents of young children (birth to age 5).