Abstract
ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to explore possible differences in health care seeking behaviour among a rural and urban African population.DesignA cross sectional design was followed using the infrastructure of the PURE-SA study. Four rural and urban Setswana communities which represented different strata of urbanisation in the North West Province, South Africa, were selected. Structured interviews were held with 206 participants. Data on general demographic and socio-economic characteristics, health status, beliefs about health and (access to) health care was collected.ResultsThe results clearly illustrated differences in socio-economic characteristics, health status, beliefs about health, and health care utilisation. In general, inhabitants of urban communities rated their health significantly better than rural participants. Although most urban and rural participants consider their access to health care as sufficient, they still experienced difficulties in receiving the requested care. The difference in employment rate between urban and rural communities in this study indicated that participants of urban communities were more likely to be employed. Consequently, participants from rural communities had a significantly lower available weekly budget, not only for health care itself, but also for transport to the health care facility. Urban participants were more than 5 times more likely to prefer a medical doctor in private practice (OR:5.29, 95% CI 2.83-988).ConclusionRecommendations are formulated for infrastructure investments in rural communities, quality of health care and its perception, improvement of household socio-economical status and further research on the consequences of delay in health care seeking behaviour.
Highlights
Designing health care policies and programmes requires knowledge about health care seeking behaviour, so that possible difficulties with early diagnosis and effective treatment can be identified and so that appropriate interventions can be implemented
This study identified several definite differences in health care seeking behaviour between members of urban and rural communities
The two groups differ in terms of their socio-economic characteristics, health status, health beliefs, prevalence of non-communicable and infectious diseases, and utilisation of health care
Summary
Designing health care policies and programmes requires knowledge about health care seeking behaviour, so that possible difficulties with early diagnosis and effective treatment can be identified and so that appropriate interventions can be implemented. Health care seeking behaviour will be influenced by the individual self, diseases, and the availability and accessibility of health services. Dependent on these determinants and their interactions [9,10], health care seeking behaviour is a complex outcome of many factors operating at individual, family and community level. Health care seeking behaviour in an urban and rural African population was compared in order to formulate recommendations which will assist with the design of health care policies and programmes. A cross sectional design was followed on the baseline data of the PURE-SA-NWP study
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
