Hea lth Seeking Behavior among the ' Poorest of the Poor' in Addi s Ababa: The Case of Gull ele Sub City
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Date
2013-07
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
With unprecedented growth of urbanization, the issue of health and health seeking behavior
(HSB) among the urban poor is sp iraling. Taking prompt and appropriate health measures
becomes unlikely to the urban poor due to the prevailing soc ioeconomic reality. Illuminating
HSB ofthe Poorest of the Poor (PoP), who are under health care safety net, in Gullele Sub City of
Addis Ababa was the objective of this study. To meet the objective, a mixed approach was
employed. A total of 168 PoP who are eligible for fee waiver were surveyed through multistage
cluster sampling. In addition, eight PoPs and six key info rmants which were selected through
purposive sampling were interviewed. To analyze the quantitative data, Statistical Package for
Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20 was used. Beyond descriptive statistics that was used to
summarize the data, further statistical tests such as t test, one way ANaYA, Pearson 's &
Spearman's Correlation and Chi Square were employed to see di ffe rences and associations. 95 %
confidence interval (CI) and 5% margin of error was considered during the statistical analysis.
The qualitative data was analyzed thematically and integrated with the quantitative based on the
similarity of themes. Accordi ngly, self-care, spiritual healing, traditional healer and trained
allopathic are the major treatment alternatives of the PoP. It was also found that perception and
attitude to health and healthcare correlated with seeking prompt healthcare among the PoP in the
study area. A statistically significant difference in prompt healthcare utilization was found
among the categories of sex, religion, religiosity and income, but insignificant for others. The
healthcare safety net has brought a difference in HSB of the PoP. Generally, the perception and
attitude of PoP to health and healthcare has an overriding role in shaping the HSB of the PoP.
Though the fee waiver scheme has resulted in progress in the HSB ofthe PoP, the paradox
behind low prompt util ization of health care has to be researched for ev idence based practice.
Key words: Attitude, Fee Waiver, Health Seeking behavior, Perception, Poorest of the Poor, and
Urban Poor
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Keywords
Attitude, Fee Waiver, Health Seeking behavior, Perception, Poorest of the Poor, Poorest of the Poor