Public Perception On Social Inequality And Health Seeking Behaviour: A Study Of Diabetes In Ile Ife, Osun State

ABSTRACT

Social inequality in health care grew dramatically in the 1980s and has remained at a high level ever since. Health inequality is the differences that occurs in health status or in the distribution of health determinates between different population groups, these social inequalities in health are responsible for the dramatic differences that occur in health seeking behavior of people in the society at large. It was on this note that this research examines the effect of social inequality on health seeking behavior in the case of diabetes in Nigeria, most especially in Ile-Ife, Osun state. Simple random sampling techniques were used to select the sample size, while data were collected through the use of questionnaire and in-depth interview. In this study, the data generated was analyzed using the statistical package for social science (SPSS). On the other hand, each result was qualitatively analyzed in relation to the research questions formulated for the study. The study found out that there is a relationship between social inequality and health seeking behavior in the case of diabetes. The findings show that when faced with diabetes the rich ~ill live longer than the poor, as it was confirmed by 66.7% of the respondents. The study also revealed that the age liable to have diabetes is age 36years and above. Education was found to influence how people respond to treatment as study found that 66. 7% of those without education do not know how they response while 40% of those with school certificate said they respond slowly and 26.9% of those with school certificate said they respond quickly. The research at the end offered policies and measures towards reducing inequality in both income and health care and response to diabetes in Ile-Ife, Osun state and Nige1ia as a whole, among was that government should improvy standard of the health sectors so that all citizens could access health care freely and there should be equal and universal access to health. Both governmental and non-governmental organizations should try to encourage the citizens to create a healthy life style by taking part in exercises, create a balanced diet e.t.c and to also look at benefits of these life style changes to health in other to reduce the rate of diabetes in Ile - Ife and Nigeria at large.