| ORIGINAL ARTICLE |
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| Year : 2018 | Volume
: 5
| Issue : 2 | Page : 52-56 |
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Healthcare-seeking behavior for infectious diseases in a community in Bangladesh
Md Shafiqul Islam Khan1, Jannatul Ferdous Ani1, Bithika Rani1, Shafaet Jamil Apon1, Fahmida Rashid2, Tanjil Islam Yead1, Musammet Rasheda Begum3, Sukanta Chowdhury4
1 Department of Food Microbiology, Patuakhali Science and Technology University, Bangladesh
2 Department of Public Health, North South University, Bangladesh
3 Department of Agricultural Economics and Social Sciences, Chittagong Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Chittagong, Bangladesh
4 Medicine and Surgery, Chittagong Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Chittagong; International Centre for Diarrheal Diseases Research, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Correspondence Address:
Sukanta Chowdhury
Department of Medicine and Surgery, Chittagong Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Chittagong
Bangladesh
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None  | Check |
DOI: 10.4103/IJAMR.IJAMR_38_18
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Background: Healthcare-seeking behavior is associated with the severity of infectious diseases, particularly in low-income countries. We need better understanding about the current healthcare-seeking behavior of rural people in low-resource settings. This study aimed to describe the healthcare-seeking behavior of rural people for infectious diseases and identify the associated factors. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional survey in a rural community in Bangladesh. We interviewed a total of 450 persons to collect data on demographics, household income, household expenditure, and healthcare-seeking behavior. We performed a descriptive analysis to summarize the demographic characteristics and multivariate logistic regression analysis to identify the association between healthcare-seeking behavior and variables of interest. Results: Among the study participants, 42% went to the health facilities, 30% went to the pharmacy, 14% went to the nonregistered doctors, 1% went to the traditional healers, 1% went to the spiritual healer, and 2% took self-treatment. Proximity of the health-care facilities (prevalence ratio [PR] 1.97, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.55–2.49) and number of clinical symptoms (PR 1.23, 95% CI: 1–1.52) were significantly associated with the care-seeking behavior. Conclusions: Healthcare-seeking behavior for infectious diseases among rural people in Bangladesh was poor. Information obtained from this study could be useful to develop, design, and improve health-care systems in low-resource settings. |
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