Department of Sociology, School of Social Sciences and Humanities, University of Management and Technology, C-II Block Johar Town, Lahore 54770, Pakistan.
Department of Anthropology and Sociology, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi 43600, Malaysia.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 May 26;19(11):6457. doi: 10.3390/ijerph19116457.
Scavengers are prone to various health problems, hence seeking healthcare is inevitable. Despite the importance of the help-seeking behavior of scavengers, it has not been addressed explicitly in the existing literature. Addressing this gap, this study intends to explore the help-seeking behavior of scavengers and to identify the factors that influence healthcare utilization among them. This qualitative study conducted thirty-one in-depth interviews through a semi-structured interview guide and analyzed them using thematic analysis. Andersen's Behavioral Model of Health Service Use was employed to explore the findings. The findings showed that the scavengers utilized multiple healthcare options depending on the severity and reoccurrence of the illness. The process of help-seeking and health services utilization was largely influenced by the cost of the health service, long distance to the health facility, traveling cost and waiting time. The study highlights the need for scavengers' enrolment in micro health insurance schemes. The initiative would facilitate scavengers' access to medical care. Health awareness campaigns and the provision of free mobile medical services, especially at the landfill sites, would also improve curative treatment among scavengers.
拾荒者容易出现各种健康问题，因此寻求医疗保健是不可避免的。尽管拾荒者的寻求帮助行为很重要，但在现有文献中并没有明确提到。为了填补这一空白，本研究旨在探讨拾荒者的寻求帮助行为，并确定影响他们利用医疗保健的因素。这项定性研究通过半结构化访谈指南进行了 31 次深入访谈，并使用主题分析进行了分析。采用安德森健康服务利用行为模型来探讨研究结果。研究结果表明，拾荒者根据疾病的严重程度和复发情况，利用了多种医疗保健选择。寻求帮助和利用卫生服务的过程在很大程度上受到卫生服务成本、到卫生机构的距离、交通成本和等待时间的影响。该研究强调了为拾荒者参加小额医疗保险计划的必要性。这一举措将使拾荒者更容易获得医疗保健。开展卫生意识运动和提供免费的流动医疗服务，特别是在垃圾填埋场，也将改善拾荒者的治疗效果。
