Singh Mrigendra P, Saha Kalyan B, Chand Sunil K, Anvikar Anup
ICMR-National Institute of Malaria Research Field Unit Jabalpur, Jabalpur, India.
ICMR-National Institute for Research in Tribal Health, Jabalpur, India.
Trop Med Int Health. 2017 Nov;22(11):1377-1384. doi: 10.1111/tmi.12973. Epub 2017 Sep 28.
To determine household factors associated with treatment seeking for malaria.
The study was carried out in four districts of Madhya Pradesh with different malaria endemicity. A total of 1470 households were interviewed in which at least one member suffered from microscopically confirmed malaria in the 3 months preceding the survey. Socio-demographic, economic, cultural characteristics, their health beliefs, knowledge and practices regarding malaria and choice of treatment seeking were explored.
A total of 764 households were from high-endemic and 706 from low-endemic areas. More than half of household heads were illiterate; most are farmers. Approximately 46% sought treatment for malaria from unqualified informal providers; 19% from qualified private health practitioners and 35% from government health providers. Analysis revealed that household's area of residence, education, occupation, ethnicity, use of preventive measures, economic status, knowledge and practices, distance and delayed treatment seeking was strongly associated with the type of healthcare providers selected.
Demand for formal health services among the poor, illiterate, tribal population living in remote areas is low. Accessible and affordable health services and a sensitisation programme to increase the demand for formal providers are needed.
确定与疟疾治疗寻求相关的家庭因素。
该研究在中央邦四个疟疾流行程度不同的地区开展。共对1470户家庭进行了访谈，这些家庭中至少有一名成员在调查前3个月经显微镜确诊患有疟疾。探讨了社会人口学、经济、文化特征、他们对疟疾的健康信念、知识和做法以及治疗寻求选择。
共有764户家庭来自高流行区，706户来自低流行区。超过半数的户主是文盲；大多数是农民。约46%的家庭从不合格的非正规医疗服务提供者处寻求疟疾治疗；19%从合格的私人执业医生处寻求治疗，35%从政府医疗服务提供者处寻求治疗。分析显示，家庭的居住地区、教育程度、职业、种族、预防措施的使用、经济状况、知识和做法、距离以及延迟寻求治疗与所选择的医疗服务提供者类型密切相关。
生活在偏远地区的贫困、文盲、部落人口对正规医疗服务的需求较低。需要提供可及且负担得起的医疗服务以及开展提高对正规医疗服务提供者需求的宣传项目。
