Healthcare seeking behavior among urban and rural households in Esera wereda, Dawro zone, Southwest Ethiopia: Comparative cross-sectional study

Abstract

Background: Health care seeking behavior is influenced by the individuals, diseases, and the simple use and access of health services. Healthcare seeking behavior states that treatment is pursued from a number of different sources and identifies price, access, service quality and belief as critical factors in decision-making. Dependent on these factors health care seeking behavior is a composite outcome of many factors functioning at several levels like socioeconomic and cultural factors that influence their seeming needs and demand. In Ethiopia there is a marked difference in seeking of health care between urban and rural areas that among those who reported illness in the rural (60%), urban (30%) did not seek any kind of health service. Objective: To compare health care seeking behavior at household levels between urban and rural Esera Woreda Dawro Zone, Southwest Ethiopia. Methods: A community based comparative cross-sectional study was conducted among urban and rural households in Esera Woreda Dawro Zone, Southwest Ethiopia from February to May 2015. Total of 394households (132-urban, 262-rural), selected via simple random sampling technique, were proportionately distributed based on population size of the kebeles at each stratum from sampling frame. Data were checked for completeness, entered into EpiData 3.1 software and exported into SPSS version 20 software for analysis. Tables, charts and frequencies for descriptive analysis where odds ratio, 95% CI test to determine statistical difference factors associated with Health Seeking Behavior between urban and rural, bivariate and multivariable logistic regression analysis were used to identify associated factors with household’s health seeking behavior. Result: A total of 377 (119 urban and258 rural) households were interviewed about 377(95.7%) response rate was get. Health care seeking behavior was higher among urban households (80.7%) than rural households (48.1%).Urban households sought four times more than rural households. At urban households being married (AOR=11.3, 95% CI =1.162, 110.204) and perceived severity (AOR =6.6, 95% CI=1.051, 10.951) had positively significant association with health care seeking behavior. Whereas monthly income, perceived severity, disease duration and distance from health center were significantly associated with HSB of rural households IV(AOR=5.6, 95% CI=2.044, 15.409), (AOR=2.5, 95% CI=1.10, 5.85), (AOR=8.9, 95% CI=2.40, 33.26) and (AOR=3, 95% CI=1.187, 8.354) respectively. Conclusion: The finding of the study shown that healthcare seeking behavior was higher among urbans than rural households. Monthly income, perceived severity, disease duration and distance from health center were significantly associated with rural households while perceived severity and being married were significantly associated with urban households. Work on strengthen accessibility of health care services and deliver pertinent health information and education regarding health and illness to prevent disease and promote health for households regardless of perceived seriousness and duration of diseases.