Selective Indices Of Health Seeking Behaviour Among Ghanaians: A Study Of Herbal And Orthodox Medical Regimens

ABSTRACT

This study concerns the determinants of the differential use of health care regimens. The focus is on herbal and orthodox medical regimens. Its central theme is that socio-cultural determinants constitute important factors that influence the sick in the selection of a health care regimen in developing African countries. The study pursues this theme by examining the complaint patterns of the two medical regimens, ascertaining the motivations that account for the basis of preference, the criteria upon which a therapeutic choice is made and the underlying motivations upon which the outcome is evaluated. The importance of the task is to gain a better understanding of health seeking behaviour of the sick in times of illness. Significant findings reflecting motivational and socio-cultural factors are made that tend to offer an explanation to the differential use of alternate health care resources. Knowledge of nature of illness (in terms of type and severity) predisposes one to choose a therapy which he considers appropriate from experience. The choice is usually organized in a "hierarchy of resorts". Herbal regimens appear to be used as "last" resorts in the hierarchy. The most important finding is that choice appears to be a function of the nature of illness and the perceived coverage capacity of a facility in terms of availability, accessibility, acceptability, contact and effective coverage. Overall, clients perceive service capacity of herbal treatment to be wider and better than orthodox treatment. Such a finding, it is suggested, has significant implications for public health in terms of the promotion of herbal medicine. By way of theoretical implication the study lends support to previous findings on the importance of efficacy testing in the differential use of health care resource (Colson 1971).