Health care seeking behaviour and utilization of health services by Kalingalinga compound residents aged between 16years and 60 years in Lusaka city, Zambia.
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Date
2021
Authors
Daka, Harrison
Mugala, Alex
Makowa, Lestina
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
International Journal of Health Systems and Implementation Research
Abstract
Health seeking behaviour encompasses activities undertaken to maintain good health, to
prevent ill health, as well as dealing with any departure from a good state of health. This
study set out to better understand the health seeking behaviour and utilization of health
services of the residents in Kalingalinga Compound of Lusaka. The study was guided by the
Social cognitive theory. The Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) started as the Social Learning
Theory (SLT) in the 1960s by Albert Bandura. This study employed a cross-sectional design
and identified the socio-demographic and health service-based factors that influence HSB
among the residents of study area. Convenience sampling method was used to pick the
required sample. 160 subjects were requested to participate in this survey. Interview guides
and questionnaires were used to obtain the data from the participants. The quantitative data
was coded and analysed using the latest SPSS version for descriptive statistics. Descriptive
statistics including frequencies and percentages were used for data analysis. Pearson’s
correlation was computed to find the relationships between different variables. In addition,
probability plot was done to show and predict the factors which highly contribute to health
seeking behaviour. Thematic Analysis was done for qualitative data. This study established
that some respondents' characteristics such as level, household size, occupation and monthly
income significantly affected the health seeking behaviour among some Kalingalinga
residents. Providing good services, affordability of such services and proximity were
considered the most important service characteristics associated with the seeking health
seeking behaviour in both public and private healthcare facilities. Study recommends actions
to improve the access to healthcare services and quality of care at the health facilities,
improve the availability of medicines in public clinics. It is hoped that the introduction of
National Health Insurance Scheme in Zambia will provide financial protection for
households with lower socioeconomic status in order to encourage use of appropriate
healthcare sources during illness episodes.
Keywords: Healthcare, Seeking behaviour, Utilisation, health workers
Description
Article
Keywords
Healthcare-seeking behaviour. , Utilization of health services--Zambia.