Health Care Switching Behaviour of Malaria Patients in a Kenyan Rural Community
Abstract
Patients ordinarily use multiple sources of health care. This study reveals the transitions patients in a rural region of Gusii, Kenya are likely to make beyond the homestead in their search for alternatives to combat malaria. Malaria is a very common health problem in the region resulting in enormous human and economic losses. Data on health care seeking behaviour were collected over a 10-month period. The primary data for this paper is from malaria-focused ethnographic interviews with 35 adults (18 women and 17 men). Results show that patients are more likely to start with self-treatment at home as they wait for a time during which they observe their progress. This allows them to minimise expenditure incurred as a result of the sickness. They are more likely to choose treatments available outside the home during subsequent decisions. The decisions include visiting a private health care practitioner, a government health centre or going to a hospital when the situation gets desperate. Knowledge and duration of sickness, the anticipated cost of treatment, and a patient's judgement of the intensity of sickness determine their choice of treatment.
URI
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953601000363http://hdl.handle.net/11295/73308
Citation
Social Science & Medicine Volume 54, Issue 3, February 2002, Pages 377–386Publisher
University of Nairobi