scholarly journals Adaptive Capacity of the Communities in View of Climate Change in Areas Vulnerable to Malaria in the Himalayan Region of India

2021 ◽  
Vol 53 (03) ◽  
pp. 143-152
Author(s):  
Ramesh C Dhiman ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Adaptive Capacity ◽  
Economic Status ◽  
Himalayan Region ◽  
Basic Knowledge ◽  
Health Seeking Behaviour ◽  
Health Seeking ◽  
Healthcare Facilities ◽  
Socio Economic Status ◽  
Health Care Infrastructure

Background: Malaria is one of the major public health problems in India and climate change is expected to aggravate the situation by opening new windows for transmission, particularlyin the Himalayan region. It is, therefore, essential to identify knowledge gapsand adaptive capacity of communities to the adverse impacts of climate change, to develop adaptation plan and improve resilience. Methods: The adaptive capacity to potential risks of malaria due to climate change was assessed in the states of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, based on the knowledge, attitude, health seeking behaviour, practices and socio-economic status of the communities. The preparedness of health facilities was also assessed in the respective healthcare facilities in view of the threat of climate change. Results: Though communities had basic knowledge about malaria, lack of specific knowledge about breeding sources of mosquitoes, use of traditional protective measures (41%) from mosquito bites, delayed health seeking behaviour by 40% households (2-4 days after illness) were found unsatisfactory.The assessment of health system revealed inadequacies in capacity for beds at CHCs (in 60%), lack of training of staff and logistics in preparedness for the threat of malaria. Conclusion: The general knowledge of communities regarding malaria was satisfactory, but several misconceptions which may affect the vulnerability to future risk of malaria were found. The adaptive capacity was found slightly above average (57.04) owing to the overall good socio-economic status. However, lack of proper health care infrastructure may impact the overall adaptive capacity of the communities to malaria.

scholarly journals Relationship of socio-economic status and childhood cancer: an in-hospital cross-sectional study in a developing country

1970 ◽  
Vol 44 (4) ◽  
pp. 180-184
Author(s):  
BJ Brown ◽  
AO Adeleye
Keyword(s):  
Childhood Cancer ◽  
Developing Country ◽  
Burkitt Lymphoma ◽  
Economic Status ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Sectional Study ◽  
Health Seeking ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Socio Economic Status ◽  
Health Seeking Behaviors

Background: Socioeconomic factors are known to affect health quality, disease occurrence as well as health-seeking behaviors in several ways.Objectives: To determine the influence of socio-economic factors on awareness of cancer, healthseeking behaviors among parents of children with cancer in a developing country and occurrence of cancer using Burkitt lymphoma as index malignancy.Methods: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study that involved children with cancer seen over a 2-year period in a tertiary hospital in Nigeria. Information was obtained by interview through administration of a questionnaire and retrieval of clinical data from patients’ case notes.Results: The caregivers of 91 children (46 boys, 45 girls) were interviewed including 86 biological parents. Majority (84.6%) of the children belonged to the low socio -economic classes 3-5; 45 of 86 parents (52.3%), more likely in parents from higher socioeconomic classes, were aware of cancer but only 7 (8.1%) knew it could occur in children. There was no association between Burkitt lymphoma and socio-economic class. Twenty-eight (30.8%) parents of the 91 children visited alternate sources of health care, most commonly traditional healers, followed by religious centers. There was no association between visits to such centers and the parents’ socio-economic status or with presentation with metastatic disease.Conclusions: Awareness of childhood cancer is low among this cohort of parents; their socioeconomic status seems to impact on this level of awareness but not on their health-seeking behaviors for their affected children. Focused health education is needed to increase childhood cancer awareness and appropriate healthseeking behavior among the population studied.Key words: socio-economic; childhood; cancer; health-seeking; behaviour; awareness

scholarly journals The tale of seeking treatment: A qualitative study of pulmonary tuberculosis patients

2016 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 229-243 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fendy Suhariadi ◽  
Rizqy Amelia Zein ◽  
Ilham Nur Alfian ◽  
Cholichul Hadi
Keyword(s):  
Medical Treatment ◽  
Health Centre ◽  
Structured Interview ◽  
Treatment Delay ◽  
Health Seeking Behaviour ◽  
Health Seeking ◽  
Healthcare Facilities ◽  
Reinforcing Factors ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
Data Collection Technique

AimThe aims of the study were unravelling patients’ health-seeking behaviour pathways to seek medication in healthcare facilities and key factors that determined patients’ immediacy in seeking medical treatment.MethodBy involving 5 pulmonary TB patients who were undertaking treatment at Pegirian Primary Health Centre, Surabaya, Indonesia, the research was carried out using an explorative qualitative research design, and the chosen data collection technique was semi-structured interview.ResultsThe research findings demonstrated that all participants showed five rather similar health-seeking behaviour sequences, such as: (a) defining symptoms; (b) asking laypeople opinions on symptoms; (c) undertaking non-medical treatment to reduce the symptoms; (d) taking laypeople’s suggestions to visit healthcare facilities into consideration; (e) deciding to undergo treatment process. Several barriers that caused treatment delay were inaccurate symptom definition and poor health-related risk perception. Meanwhile, reinforcing factors were relatives’ appeal to seek treatment, the existence of comorbid/previous diseases, access to healthcare facilities, and increasing perceived severity of the symptoms.ConclusionResearch findings showed that participants performed similar health-seeking pathways. Hindering factors that caused treatment delay were mostly related to cultural-based illness definition and knowledge. Research findings would be potentially beneficial to local primary healthcare for designing interventions that encourage patients to seek professional help and reduce treatment delay.

scholarly journals Livestock Farmer Demography and Adaptive Capacity to Climate Change and Variability in Limpopo and Mpumalanga Province of South Africa

2022 ◽  
Vol 27 ◽  
pp. 870-898
Author(s):  
Khathutshelo A. Tshikolomo ◽  
Azwihangwisi E. Nesamvuni ◽  
Marema Petja ◽  
Johan Van Niekerk ◽  
Ndivhudza S. Mpandeli
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
South Africa ◽  
Adaptive Capacity ◽  
Economic Status ◽  
High Capacity ◽  
Livestock Farming ◽  
Mpumalanga Province ◽  
Climate Change And Variability ◽  
Livestock Farmers ◽  
Almost All

The study investigated the demographic characteristics of smallholder livestock farmers in Limpopo and Mpumalanga Province of South Africa and their effect on the capacity of the farmers to adapt to climate change and variability. Respondents were mainly heads (58.7%) and parents (25.7%) to heads of households and were mostly male (63.4%) with good health (97.8%) associated with high adaptive capacity to climate change and variability. Regarding socio-economic status, four in five (81.5%) of the livestock farmers had only secondary education at most, and incomes were generally low, probably associated with low capacity to adapt to climate change and variability. On the contrary, the quality of housing for the livestock farmers was either top (48.5% of farmers) or medium (47.4%). Some 45.9% of farmers owned 4 to 5 rooms, 44.5% owned six or more rooms, with 88.5% of them having financed their houses. Almost all the respondents (97.3%) had access to electricity, and these suggest the high capacity to adapt to climate change and variability. With regards to aspects of livestock farming, one male (40.1% of households) and female (39.3%) member was fit to work in farming, livestock was owned by heads (52.9% of the households) and by children (29.0%), affirming the high capacity to adapt to climate change and variability. Almost all respondents (99.2%) used communal land, had fewer livestock, lacked training (99.5%), never belonged to a farmers’ union (99.7%) or a producer organization (100.0%), and had no access to financial support from the government (99.2%) associated with low adaptive capacity. The findings of the study revealed that demographic factors had different influences on the capacity of smallholder livestock farmers to adapt to adverse effects of climate change and variability on the farming enterprises. This was true for all the three types of demographic factors studied, namely: personal characteristics, economic status, and aspects of livestock farming.

scholarly journals Diarrhoeal diseases in Soweto, South Africa, 2020: a community survey

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Siobhan Johnstone ◽  
Nicola Page ◽  
Shabir Madhi ◽  
Portia Mutevedzi ◽  
Nellie Myburgh ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
South Africa ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Community Survey ◽  
Health Seeking Behaviour ◽  
Older Children ◽  
Health Seeking ◽  
Healthcare Facilities ◽  
Clinical Surveillance ◽  
Household Members

Abstract Background In South Africa, there are limited data on the burden of diarrhoea at a community level, specifically in older children and adults. This community survey estimated rates of and risk factors for diarrhoea across all ages and determined the proportion of cases presenting to healthcare facilities. Methods Randomly sampled households were enrolled from an existing urban health and demographic surveillance site. A household representative was interviewed to determine risk factors and occurrence of diarrhoea in the household, for all household members, in the past two weeks (including symptoms and health seeking behaviour). Diarrhoeal rate of any severity was calculated for <5 years, 5-15 years and >15 years age groups. Risk factors for diarrhoea and factors associated with health seeking behaviour were investigated using binomial logistic regression. Results Diarrhoeal rate among respondents (2.5 episodes/person-year (95%CI, 1.8-3.5)) was significantly higher than for other household members (1.0 episodes/person-year (95%CI, 0.8-1.4); IRR=2.4 (95%CI, 1.5-3.7) p<0.001). Diarrhoeal rate was not significantly different between age groups, however younger children (<5 years) were more likely to present to healthcare facilities (OR=5.86 (95%CI, 1.09-31.37), p=0.039). Having a child between 5-15 years in the household was associated with diarrhoea (OR=2.26 (95% CI, 1.32-3.86), p=0.003). While 26.4% of cases sought healthcare, only 4.6% of cases were hospitalised and only 3.4% of cases had a stool specimen collected. Conclusion Diarrhoeal rate was high across all age groups in this community; however, older children and adults were less likely to present to healthcare, and are therefore underrepresented through facility-based clinical surveillance.

scholarly journals Diarrhoeal diseases in Soweto, South Africa, 2020: a cross-sectional community survey

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Siobhan L. Johnstone ◽  
Nicola A. Page ◽  
Juno Thomas ◽  
Shabir A. Madhi ◽  
Portia Mutevedzi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Community Survey ◽  
Health Seeking Behaviour ◽  
Older Children ◽  
Health Seeking ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Healthcare Facilities ◽  
Factors Associated ◽  
Household Members

Abstract Background In South Africa, there are limited data on the burden of diarrhoea at a community level, specifically in older children and adults. This community survey estimated rates of and factors associated with diarrhoea across all ages and determined the proportion of cases presenting to healthcare facilities. Methods Households were enrolled from an existing urban health and demographic surveillance site. A household representative was interviewed to determine associated factors and occurrence of diarrhoea in the household, for all household members, in the past 2 weeks (including symptoms and health seeking behaviour). Diarrhoeal rate of any severity was calculated for < 5 years, 5–15 years and > 15 years age groups. Factors associated with diarrhoea and health seeking behaviour were investigated using binomial logistic regression. Results Diarrhoeal rate among respondents (2.5 episodes/person-year (95% CI, 1.8–3.5)) was significantly higher than for other household members (1.0 episodes/person-year (95% CI, 0.8–1.4); IRR = 2.4 (95% CI, 1.5–3.7) p < 0.001). Diarrhoeal rates were similar between age groups, however younger children (< 5 years) were more likely to present to healthcare facilities than adults (OR = 5.9 (95% CI, 1.1–31.4), p = 0.039). Oral rehydration solution was used in 44.8% of cases. Having a child between 5 and 15 years in the household was associated with diarrhoea (OR = 2.3 (95% CI, 1.3–3.9), p = 0.003) and, while 26.4% of cases sought healthcare, only 4.6% were hospitalised and only 3.4% of cases had a stool specimen collected. While the majority of cases were mild, 13.8% of cases felt they required healthcare but were unable to access it. Conclusion Diarrhoeal rate was high across all age groups in this community; however, older children and adults were less likely to present to healthcare, and are therefore underrepresented through facility-based clinical surveillance. Current diarrhoeal surveillance represents a fraction of the overall cases occurring in the community.

scholarly journals Rural–urban health-seeking behaviours for non-communicable diseases in Sierra Leone

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. e002024 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ayesha Idriss ◽  
Karin Diaconu ◽  
Guanyang Zou ◽  
Reynold GB Senesi ◽  
Haja Wurie ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sierra Leone ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Communicable Diseases ◽  
Basic Knowledge ◽  
Group Model ◽  
Care Seeking ◽  
Health Seeking Behaviour ◽  
Health Seeking ◽  
Community Members ◽  
Non Communicable Diseases

IntroductionNon-communicable diseases (NCDs) are the leading cause of mortality globally. In Africa, they are expected to increase by 25% by 2030. However, very little is known about community perceptions of risk factors and factors influencing health-seeking behaviour, especially in fragile settings. Understanding these is critical to effectively address this epidemic, especially in low-resource settings.MethodsWe use participatory group model building techniques to probe knowledge and perceptions of NCD conditions and their causes, health-seeking patterns for NCDs and factors affecting these health-seeking patterns. Our participants were 116 local leaders and community members in three sites in Western Area (urban) and Bombali District (rural), Sierra Leone. Data were analysed using a prior framework for NCD care seeking developed in Ghana.ResultsOur findings suggest adequate basic knowledge of causes and symptoms of the common NCDs, in rural and urban areas, although there is a tendency to highlight and react to severe symptoms. Urban and rural communities have access to a complex network of formal and informal, traditional and biomedical, spiritual and secular health providers. We highlight multiple narratives of causal factors which community members can hold, and how these and social networks influence their care seeking. Care seeking is influenced by a number of factors, including supply-side factors (proximity and cost), previous experiences of care, disease-specific factors, such as acute presentation, and personal and community beliefs about the appropriateness of different strategies.ConclusionThis article adds to the limited literature on community understanding of NCDs and its associated health-seeking behaviour in fragile settings. It is important to further elucidate these factors, which power hybrid journeys including non-care seeking, failure to prevent and self-manage effectively, and considerable expenditure for households, in order to improve prevention and management of NCDs in fragile settings such as Sierra Leone.

scholarly journals HEALTH SEEKING BEHAVIOUR AMONG ADULT ORANG ASLI (INDIGENOUS PEOPLES) FROM RURAL NEGERI SEMBILAN, MALAYSIA: A MIXED-METHODS STUDY

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 348-358
Author(s):  
Muslimah Ithnin ◽  
Nadeeya’Ayn Umaisara Mohamad Nor ◽  
Norsham Juliana ◽  
Nadia Mohd Effendy ◽  
Mohd Dzulkhairi Mohd Rani
Keyword(s):  
Indigenous Peoples ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Mixed Method Research ◽  
Health Seeking Behaviour ◽  
Health Seeking ◽  
Cross Sectional Survey ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Essential Information ◽  
Orang Asli ◽  
Healthcare Facilities

Globally, the minority indigenous peoples have a lower health status when compared with national populations. The Orang Asli who are indigenous peoples of Peninsular Malaysia, also poses a significant challenge towards the handling of diseases. The present study sought to synthesise a coherent explanation of health-seeking behaviour among Orang Asli using a mixed-method research approach. A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 324 adult Orang Asli living in the rural district of Jelebu, in the Peninsular Malaysian state of Negeri Sembilan who conformed to the inclusion criteria. Then, 16 participants were interviewed to obtain an in-depth insight regarding their health-seeking behaviour. The findings showed that the majority of the Orang Asli utilized modern healthcare facilities and the respondents reported that the accessibility, services and medicines provided by the government were excellent. Meanwhile, 40.7% of the respondents relied on both traditional and modern treatments. The key determinants of the modern health-seeking behaviours among the Orang Asli in this study were satisfaction on modern health, barriers in getting health services, acceptance and attitude, and traditional medicine utilisation. Government, institutions and healthcare facilities have a role in ensuring that the vulnerable Orang Asli population is not left behind in receiving essential information on diseases associated with chronic and infectious diseases, including the current COVID-19 pandemic, as their action of seeking treatment remains complex and multi-layered.

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