Relationship Between Health Care Seeking Behavior and Socio- Demographic Characteristics Among Rural People of Bangladesh
Principal Investigator: Dr. Shabareen Tisha
Background
Health care seeking is a vital issue in all kinds of morbidity. Illness or deviation from normal state of health is mostly a subjective awareness of an individual for the relief which can be sought within or outside of medical and health facilities. Illness behavior refers to the activities undertaken by individuals in response to symptom experience. It typically includes mental debate about the significance and seriousness of these symptoms, lay consultation, decisions about action including self-medication, and constant with health professionals. Symptom perception has a well-recognized social and even ethnic dimension. Perception of illness has been found to vary with cultural, ethnic and socioeconomic difference. Socio-economic status, education, income or other indices of social class, has long been known to be associated with attitudes and health care practices. The impact of socio-demographic factors on health care seeking behavior is important. Patient compliance depends on many psychological and sociological factors and the interaction of patient’s own ideas with the disease. Knowledge about the existing disease pattern and health seeking behavior is essential to provide need based health care delivery to any population.
Objective
The objectives of this study are to examine self-rated health status and health care-seeking behavior of Bangladeshis, and to ascertain the socio-economic determinants of health care seeking behavior as well as good health status.