A cross-sectional study on factors associated with health seeking behaviour of Malawians aged 15+ years in 2016.
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Introduction: Health seeking behaviour (HSB) refers to actions taken by individuals who are ill in order to find appropriate remedy. Most studies on HSB have only examined one symptom or covered only a specific geographical location within a country. In this study, we used a representative sample of adults to explore the factors associated with HSB in response to 30 symptoms reported by adult Malawians in 2016. Methods: We used the 2016 Malawi Integrated Household Survey dataset. We fitted a multilevel logistic regression model of likelihood of 'seeking care at a health facility' using a forward step-wise selection method, with age, sex and reported symptoms entered as a priori variables. We calculated the odds ratios (ORs) and their associated 95% confidence intervals (95% CI). We set the level of statistical significance at P < 0.05. Results: Of 6909 adults included in the survey, 1907 (29%) reported symptoms during the 2 weeks preceding the survey. Of these, 937 (57%) sought care at a health facility. Adults in urban areas were more likely to seek health care at a health facility than those in rural areas (AOR = 1.65, 95% CI: 1.19-2.30, P = 0.003). Females had a higher likelihood of seeking care from health facilities than males (AOR = 1.26, 95% CI: 1.03-1.59, P = 0.029). Being of higher wealth status was associated with a higher likelihood of seeking care from a health facility (AOR = 1.58, 95% CI: 1.16-2.16, P = 0.004). Having fever and eye problems were associated with higher likelihood of seeking care at a health facility, while having headache, stomach ache and respiratory tract infections were associated with lower likelihood of seeking care at a health facility. Conclusion: This study has shown that there is a need to understand and address individual, socioeconomic and geographical barriers to health seeking to increase access and appropriate use of health care and fast-track progress towards Universal Health Coverage among the adult population.
Date Issued
2021-01-17
Date Acceptance
2021-01-01
Citation
Malawi Medical Journal, 2021, 32 (4), pp.205-212
ISSN
1995-7262
Publisher
University of Malawi, College of Medicine
Start Page
205
End Page
212
Journal / Book Title
Malawi Medical Journal
Volume
32
Issue
4
Copyright Statement
© 2020 The College of Medicine and the Medical Association of Malawi. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
Sponsor
Medical Research Council (MRC)
Identifier
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34457205
Grant Number
MR/R015600/1
Subjects
Health inequality
Malawi
health seeking behaviour
integrated household survey
Adult
Cross-Sectional Studies
Female
Health Behavior
Health Facilities
Health Services Accessibility
Health Status
Health Status Disparities
Humans
Male
Patient Acceptance of Health Care
Socioeconomic Factors
Surveys and Questionnaires
Publication Status
Published
Coverage Spatial
Malawi
Date Publish Online
2021-01-17