Assessment Of Health Care Seeking Behavior At Household Level In Sodo Zuria Wereda Snnpr Southern Ethiopia

Background: The processes involved in making decision to seek medical care are not fullyrnunderstood, and many researchers claim that availability and accessibility of health services arernthe main factors affecting health care seeking behavior of individuals.rnObjectives: To assess the health seeking behavior of household members, identify the role ofrnlocal healers in health care service provision, and describe the process of decision making tornseek health care.rnMethods: A community- based, cross- sectional study, was conducted in January 2005 usingrnquantitative and qualitative dada collection methods. The study was carried out in Sodo ZuriarnWereda, of Wolaita Zone in Southern Nations and nationalities people region(SNNPR), southrnEthiopia. Stratified random sampling technique was employed to select households from ruralrnand urban area. Key informants were selected for in-depth interview using the ‘snow ball’rntechnique for the qualitative part of the study. The quantitative part used structured and pretestedrnquestionnaires to collect data by interviewing the head of households. Households wererninquired about illness with regard to the members of the households in the preceding four weeks,rnfor utilization of health care services and perception about local healers.rnResult: A total of 844 households were visited, of which 233 (27.6 %) were from urban and 611rn(72.4%) were from rural areas. Perceived report of symptoms and utilization of health service tornillness was conducted in a sample of 824 households consisting of 5114 household members.rnThe prevalence of illness was 9.7% during a recall period of four weeks preceding the interview.rnSickness was associated with a family size above six. About 80.1% of those who reported illnessrnviiirnhad visited modern health care services. Of these 49.4% visited private health care providers andrn48.6% visited public health facilities. Among sick individuals 47% sought health care within 1-3rndays. Of the sick individuals 22.3% got injection, most of which was provided by health centersrn(35.6%) and clinics (32.7%). About 20% of the sick individuals did not visit any health services,rnmainly due to shortage ofrnmoney. There is low level of visit to traditional healers by sick individuals. 44.6% of doctors andrn24.7% of nurses provided health care for sick individuals who visited the health care services.rnConclusion: There is a favorable health seeking behavior in the study area, with the majority ofrnsick individuals visiting modern health care providers within a few days of illness. There is highrnnumber of injection provision at lower level of health care unit.rnRecommendation: design the family consultation system ought to be employed as healthrnpromotion and preventive actions, develop a system of health care provision for those who arernnot able to get health care, the existing private health care unit utilization should be promotedrnwith due consideration of quality control system, and further exploration is needed for excessrninjection provision in lower level of health institutions.rnKey words: illness, sickness, traditional medicine, household, Kebele.

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