dc.contributor.author | Nyamongo, I K | |
dc.date.accessioned | 2014-07-25T06:17:24Z | |
dc.date.available | 2014-07-25T06:17:24Z | |
dc.date.issued | 2002-02 | |
dc.identifier.citation | Social Science & Medicine Volume 54, Issue 3, February 2002, Pages 377–386 | en_US |
dc.identifier.uri | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953601000363 | |
dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/11295/73308 | |
dc.description.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. | en_US |
dc.language.iso | en | en_US |
dc.publisher | University of Nairobi | en_US |
dc.subject | Health care; Behaviour; Malaria; Focused ethnographic study; Gusii; Kenya | en_US |
dc.title | Health Care Switching Behaviour of Malaria Patients in a Kenyan Rural Community | en_US |
dc.type | Article | en_US |
dc.type.material | en | en_US |