The Nigerian situation: health seeking behaviour
I borrow words from the encyclopedia of a meddler and mentor, Dr. Mike Omotosho, to say that if any one lost a child, sister, brother, father, mother or a friend for any preventable health related reasons and someone is pained, then that person is Hope Abraham Omeiza. This is the passion that drove my humble […]
I borrow words from the encyclopedia of a meddler and mentor, Dr. Mike Omotosho, to say that if any one lost a child, sister, brother, father, mother or a friend for any preventable health related reasons and someone is pained, then that person is Hope Abraham Omeiza.
This is the passion that drove my humble start and the publications on Tramadol, Meningitis as well as the several medical outreaches to rural communities as an individual and a volunteer to private NGOs.
Being a serving corps doctor in Abuja Municipal Area Council and covering three health care facilities, it has really brought a lot to hand and it will disappoint you seeing the poor behaviours people exhibit with respect to health seeking.
This cuts across medically and non-medically inclined individuals, elites and non-elites, the rich and the poor, even though these factors also affect to a very large extent our behavior.
We somehow drag ourselves into devastating health state because of our morbid disposition to health seeking. We must imbibe the right attitude towards healthy living.
Health-seeking behaviour has been defined as a “sequence of remedial actions that individuals undertake to rectify perceived ill-health.”
In particular, health-seeking behaviour can be described with data collected from information such as the time difference between the onset of an illness and getting in contact with a healthcare professional, type of healthcare provider patients seek help from, how compliant patient is with the recommended treatment, reasons for choice of healthcare professional and reasons for not seeking help from healthcare professionals.
In the broadest sense, health behaviour includes all behaviours associated with establishing and maintaining a healthy physical and mental state (primary prevention), behaviours that deals with any digression from the healthy state, such as controlling (secondary prevention), and reducing impact and progression of an illness (tertiary prevention).
It is unfortunate to see the lives of young men and women that have been wasted due to poor health seeking behavior. I can’t forget the lifeless body of a 22-year-old beautiful young lady supposedly in her 3rd year at university who was brought into the Emergency room (ER) by her parents who were in agony with all sense of guilt and expecting a miracle that would bring back to life their daughter who had been sick for about a week with a febrile illness.
All over her body were concoctions of various herbal medications that she had vomited with red oil rubbed over her body.
Another is the pastor of a church who presented to the ER three (3) times within 34 hours for a tibia fracture following a road traffic accident, he had refused medical management at an earlier presentation and signed against medical advice to access care from traditional bone setters.
Last presentation saw the patient with severe infection from the affected limb with little or nothing left to be done for him than amputating the limb with untoward disability.
I remain petrified at the life of a 14-year-old that was whisked away four years ago, some dudes from Cameroon came selling some unorthodox substance that they claimed could cure kidney diseases, this triggered the cascade of events that drove the young chap swiftly to the grave in less than a month.
Even some will go as far as telling you what to expect, like passage of loose watery stool which they claim is the commencement of “system flushing” and eventual relieve from disturbing symptoms.
We have seen patients on management for chronic illnesses like hypertension, diabetes mellitus, hepatitis not compliant with their medications in the guise of my Pastor, Imam, etc said this and that.
Only little is left to our imagination as before our very face such patients come with stroke, and terminal complications of their illness.
Some folks will tell you they will want to go to the village to access a particular herb that has been recognized to treat their illness.
The argument is not that these traditional medications do not hold some good, but unlike the orthodox medications that have been subjected to series of clinical trials and still undergoing post-market surveillance, the former have no scientific evidence base trial whatsoever accorded to them.
Thus in the face of side effects or adverse reactions to these traditional medications, it becomes a dicey situation for both the attending clinician and the patient as the pharmaco-dynamics and –kinetics as well as specific antidotes in case of toxicity are not documented.
Did I mention our behaviours to preventive measures to certain preventable cancers like Cervical cancer that don’t take more than a token to be done more so with free testing offered by some NGO’s and health centers.
I remember interviewing a cross section of female doctors on accessibility of pap smear, it was shocking to realize that only about 10% had ever had one done.
One can then imagine what situation and scenario would obtain among the general population. Indeed people must change their behaviours geared at keeping away ill health.
Our health care seeking behaviour is not just expressed in our disposition when we are sick (secondary and tertiary) but more so at the primordial and primary level.
We must stop exposing ourselves to the lure of witch doctors who claim to have cure to almost all the diseases. This speaks so much of our poverty, not in Naira but of the mind.
The anti-apartheid activist and former president of South Africa had this to say: “Overcoming poverty is not a task of charity, it is an act of justice. Like slavery and apartheid, poverty is not natural. It is man-made and can be overcome and eradicated by the actions of human beings. Sometimes it falls on a generation to be great. You can be that great generation. Let your greatness blossom.”
It won’t go without acknowledging the fact that certain factors affect the manner with which we approach our health, these are the type of illness for example mental illness where people might feel stigmatized if they attempt to seek appropriate care, severity of illness, culture, gender role as women have been seen to engage in less health seeking behaviour as they feel they are more restricted compared to their male counterparts in terms of health care accessibility, availability and accessibility of health care facilities.
Another important influence on our health seeking behaviour is the Social determinant of health.
The World Health Organization defines the social determinants of health as the “conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work and age.”
In 2011, the World Health Organization argues “the distribution of money, power and resources at global, national and local levels” creates these conditions.
Socio-Economic Status (SES), gender, race, and education are factors of health-seeking behaviour that are influenced by the social determinants of health.
It’s therefore in order to state that the government owes the masses especially those in resource poor settlements a duty to improve their health seeking behaviour through vibrant health awareness programs, free medical outreaches to enable them see the need and re-orientate them on the right thing to do to stay healthy.
The Government should take a cue from the words of Aung San Suu Kyi, “the true measure of the justice of a system is the amount of protection it guarantees to the weakest”.
It is on this note I hope to lead an online network where individuals and groups can access health care advice and counselling at their various levels of needs.
Whatever I do might be insignificant, but it is very important that I do it. Let us stop our people from languishing in the pangs of ignorance, and let’s be that great generation, We CAN be that great generation, Let our GREATNESS blossom.