Health seeking behaviour in northern KwaZulu-Natal

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dc.creatorCase, Anne
dc.creatorMenendez, Alicia
dc.creatorArdington, Cally
dc.date2013-10-11T13:19:19Z
dc.date2013-10-11T13:19:19Z
dc.date2005-05
dc.date.accessioned2015-05-28T10:06:28Z
dc.date.available2015-05-28T10:06:28Z
dc.date.issued2015-05-28
dc.descriptionWe examine patterns of health seeking behaviour prior to death among 1282 individuals who lived in the Umkhanyakude District of Northern KwaZulu- Natal. Information on the health care choices of these individuals, who died between January 2003 and July 2004, was gathered after their deaths from their primary care-givers. We examine choices made concerning public and private medicine, western and traditional medicine, and non-prescribed self-medication. We find that virtually all adults who were ill prior to death sought treatment from a Western medical provider, visiting either a public clinic or a private doctor. In this district, which is predominantly poor, ninety percent of adults who sought treatment from a public clinic also visited a private doctor. Fifty percent also sought treatment from a traditional healer, suggesting that traditional medicine is seen as a complement to, rather than a substitute for, Western care. Better educated people who were ill for less than a month before dying were significantly more likely to visit a private doctor, while those least well educated were more likely to visit a traditional healer. Controlling for length of illness, better educated and wealthier people sought care from a greater range of providers, and spent significantly more on their treatment.
dc.identifier1-77011-048-8
dc.identifierhttp://hdl.handle.net/11090/665
dc.identifier.ris TY - Working Paper DA - 2015-05-28 DB - OpenUCT DP - University of Cape Town KW - Health KW - Health seeking behaviour KW - KwaZulu-Natal KW - Death KW - Medicine KW - Traditional medicine KW - Poverty KW - Traditional healer KW - Western medicine KW - Education KW - Illness KW - Wealth LK - https://open.uct.ac.za PB - University of Cape Town PY - 2015 T1 - Health seeking behaviour in northern KwaZulu-Natal TI - Health seeking behaviour in northern KwaZulu-Natal UR - http://hdl.handle.net/11090/665 ER - en_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11090/665
dc.languageen
dc.publisherCSSR and SALDRU
dc.publisher.departmentSALDRUen_ZA
dc.publisher.facultyFaculty of Commerceen_ZA
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Cape Town
dc.relationCSSR/SALDRU Working Papers;116
dc.subjectHealth
dc.subjectHealth seeking behaviour
dc.subjectKwaZulu-Natal
dc.subjectDeath
dc.subjectMedicine
dc.subjectTraditional medicine
dc.subjectPoverty
dc.subjectTraditional healer
dc.subjectWestern medicine
dc.subjectEducation
dc.subjectIllness
dc.subjectWealth
dc.titleHealth seeking behaviour in northern KwaZulu-Natal
dc.typeWorking Paper
uct.type.publicationResearchen_ZA
uct.type.resourceWorking Paperen_ZA
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