Maranao Parents’ Willingness and Barriers to Chest X-ray Screening for Childhood Pneumonia
Anhar Abdullah, Najema Macabawe, Johanna Randa, Achmed Sani, Mark Alipio
Received: 13 September 2025; Revised: 12 October 2025; Accepted: 10 November 2025; Published: 16 November 2025
DOI: https://doi.org/10.66074/QW54RT78
Abstract
Pneumonia is a leading infectious killer of children under five and remains a major cause of hospitalisation in the Philippines. Chest X-ray is central to diagnosis, yet little evidence describes how Muslim parents in poor urban communities decide for or against imaging. This qualitative phenomenological study examined how Maranao mothers in Mahayahay, Iligan City, viewed chest X-ray for children with suspected pneumonia, and what factors shaped their decisions. Fifteen Maranao mothers who had sought care for a child with cough and difficulty in breathing in the previous year took part in semistructured interviews. Transcripts underwent Colaizzi style thematic analysis. Mothers described conditional willingness that depended on perceived severity, trust in the physician, and ability to pay. Knowledge about pneumonia and radiation was limited, and anxiety about cancer and long term harm was common. Modesty, gender concordance with staff, and respect for hijab shaped comfort with imaging. Financial hardship, distance to functioning X-ray units, and equipment breakdowns reinforced delay or refusal. Mothers requested community level education, clear explanation of radiation dose and benefit, and free or subsidised imaging for children. The findings support culturally safe, affordable chest X-ray services in Muslim communities as a strategy to reduce avoidable pneumonia deaths.
Keywords: chest X-ray, cultural sensitivity, parental decision-making, pneumonia
Author Information: Iligan Medical Center College, Iligan, Philippines; [email protected]
Volume 2, Issue 1, March 2026