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

Abstract

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.

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

“…However, it is interesting to see that, in the case of malaria, the most common PRD, almost 90% of respondents reported that they would use informal healthcare practices. Similar results were found in our study among students [ 19 ].…”

“…It provides insights that help to explain why a disease like malaria is such a problem in Cameroon. In a parallel study on university students in Cameroon [ 19 ], we showed that students, with a much better educational background than the CDC workers, respond to malaria in very similar ways. Because students have to pay for official healthcare, reliance on self-medication practices and informal medication was even more prominent, especially for malaria.…”

“…Fieldwork for the larger study took place between February 2013 and July 2014. The results obtained from the study involving the students have been published elsewhere [ 19 ]. The study design of the research presented here is a survey.…”

“…In order to get a better understanding of the inter-linkages between poverty and diseases, we designed a study of people’s responses to health challenges in two distinct groups of people in Cameroon. These groups were students at two state universities [ 19 ] and plantation workers (and dependants of workers) of the Cameroon Development Corporation (CDC). In this paper, we focus on the survey carried out in CDC camps.…”

Current challenges and proposed solutions to the effective implementation of the RTS, S/AS01 Malaria Vaccine Program in sub-Saharan Africa: A systematic review

“…According to the health belief model, individuals’ perceptions of diseases and beneficial effects of interventions that serve to counter diseases are key determinants of people’s responses to health interventions [16]. Previous studies conducted in diverse sub-Saharan African settings found that malaria was generally perceived as a major public health problem [17]. Therefore, it could be inferred that vaccination against malaria is perceived as an important preventive measure by the sub-Saharan African population and this could explain the overall high acceptance rate noted in our review.…”