Health-seeking behaviour of Port Harcourt city residents: a comparison between the upper and lower socio-economic classes

Jaja, Promise Tamunoipiriala

doi:10.4081/jphia.2013.e9

Cited by 2 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 9 publications

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“…The presence of HIV has led to an increase in the number of TB cases in the country, making it the third listed major PRD [ 15 , 16 ]. People may avail of healthcare services to respond to PRDs, but they usually have to pay out of their own pocket, with a consequent heavy toll on family budgets [ 17 , 18 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Poverty and health among CDC plantation labourers in Cameroon: Perceptions, challenges and coping strategies

et al. 2017

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Creating better access to good quality healthcare for the poor is a major challenge to development. In this study, we examined inter-linkages between poverty and disease, referred to as poverty-related diseases (PRDs), by investigating how Cameroon Development Corporation (CDC) camp dwellers respond to diseases that adversely affect their health and wellbeing. Living in plantation camps is associated with poverty, overcrowding, poor sanitation and the rapid spread of diseases. In a survey of 237 CDC camp dwellers in Cameroon, we used the health belief model to understand the drivers (perceived threats, benefits and cues for treatment seeking) of reported responses. Using logistic regression analysis, we looked for trends in people’s response to malaria. We calculated the odds ratio of factors shown to have an influence on people’s health, such as food, water, sanitation challenges and seeking formal healthcare for malaria. Malaria (40.3%), cholera (20.8%) and diarrhoea (17.7%) were the major PRDs perceived by camp dwellers. We found a strong link between what respondents perceived as PRDS and hygiene conditions. Poverty for our respondents was more about living in poor hygiene conditions than lack of money. Respondents perceived health challenges as stemming from their immediate living environment. Moreover, people employed self-medication and other informal health practices to seek healthcare. Interestingly, even though respondents reported using formal healthcare services as a general response to illness (84%), almost 90% stated that, in the case of malaria, they would use informal healthcare services. Our study recommends that efforts to curb the devastating effects of PRDs should have a strong focus on perceptions (i.e. include diseases that people living in conditions of poverty perceive as PRDs) and on hygiene practices, emphasising how they can be improved. By providing insights into the inter-linkages between poverty and disease, our study offers relevant guidance for potentially successful health promotion interventions.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Poverty and health among CDC plantation labourers in Cameroon: Perceptions, challenges and coping strategies

et al. 2017

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Poverty-related diseases (PRDs): unravelling complexities in disease responses in Cameroon

et al. 2017

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BackgroundIn Cameroon, poverty-related diseases (PRDs) are a major public health concern. Research and policies addressing PRDs are based on a particular understanding of the interaction between poverty and disease, usually an association between poverty indicators and health indicators for a specific country or region. Such indicators are useful but fail to explain the nature of the linkages between poverty and disease or poverty and health. This paper presents results of a study among university students, unravelling how they perceive diseases, the linkages with poverty, their responses to diseases and the motivations behind reported responses.Based on the health belief model, this cross-sectional study was carried out among 272 students at the universities of Buea and Yaoundé in Cameroon. Data were collected using questionnaires containing items matching the research objectives. The questionnaires were self-completed.ResultsMalaria was considered as the most common disease perceived and also a major PRD. Contrary to official rankings of HIV/AIDS and TB, cholera and diarrhoea were considered as other major PRDs. Also, typhoid fever was perceived to be more common and a PRD than HIV/AIDS and TB combined. The most prominently attributed cause for disease was (lack of) hygiene. In response, students deployed formal and/or informal healthcare strategies, depending on factors like available money, perceived severity of the disease and disease type. Discrepancies were observed in respondents’ response to diseases generally and to malaria in particular. Even though, overall, respondents pre-dominantly reported a formal healthcare response toward diseases in general, for malaria, informal responses dominated. There was an overall strong awareness and (pro)activity among students for dealing with diseases.ConclusionsAlthough the high use of informal facilities and medication for malaria may well be a reason why eradication is problematic, this seems to be a deliberate strategy linked to an awareness of the limitations of the formal health system. In any intervention intended to foster health, it is therefore vital to consider people’s perceptions toward diseases and their response strategies. Our results give important leads to health promotion interventions to develop group-specific programs.

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Health-seeking behaviour of Port Harcourt city residents: a comparison between the upper and lower socio-economic classes

Cited by 2 publications

References 9 publications

Poverty and health among CDC plantation labourers in Cameroon: Perceptions, challenges and coping strategies

Poverty and health among CDC plantation labourers in Cameroon: Perceptions, challenges and coping strategies

Poverty-related diseases (PRDs): unravelling complexities in disease responses in Cameroon

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