A. Develay et al., UTILIZATION OF HEALTH-CARE IN AN AFRICAN URBAN AREA - RESULTS FROM A HOUSEHOLD SURVEY IN OUAGADOUGOU, BURKINA-FASO, Social science & medicine, 43(11), 1996, pp. 1611-1619
Citations number
40
Categorie Soggetti
Social Sciences, Biomedical","Public, Environmental & Occupation Heath
This study analysed the level of utilization of different kinds of hea
lth care providers, and its correlates, by people reporting an illness
via a household health survey in a representative sample of 547 house
holds (3667 persons) in the city of Ouagadougou, Burkina-Faso in 1989.
More than one-fourth of the sample reported suffering from a health c
are problem in the 2-week period preceding the interview. Self care wa
s the most frequently reported type of care received (55.6%). Bivariat
e analysis and logistic regression revealed that the principal determi
nants of the utilization of modern care givers were age, socio-economi
c level, illness characteristics (type, length, severity), and cost of
care and transportation. In particular,we found that: (1) Even though
the family remained the main provider of care in case of minor (mild
and short) illnesses, it did not prevent modern health facilities from
playing their curative role in case of serious illnesses. (2) Residen
tial zone (central versus peripheral zone) was not significantly assoc
iated with health care choice, which was contrary to expectation. (3).
On the other hand, socio-economic status strongly affected health-see
king behavior. (4) The travel pattern of the ill persons favored healt
h care facilities in the central zone. Taken together, the results of
this study question the role of community health workers in the urban
program of community health care which was in the process of being imp
lemented at the time of the study. They suggest that the family, inste
ad of the community health workers, should be seen as the provider of
curative care for minor illnesses. Community health workers may have a
more effective role in health education than in curative tasks. Copyr
ight (C) 1996 Elsevier Science Ltd.