Health Seeking Behaviour of Urban Slum Dwellers in Karad - A Town in Western Maharashtra

Health of an individual is influenced by many factors, including his/her health seeking behaviour. Policy makers need to understand the drivers of health seeking behaviour of the population. Aim and Objectives To find out health seeking behaviour in an urban slum in Karad - a town in western Maharashtra, socio-demographic factors associated with the same and extent of utilisation of public health services. Material and Methods Present study, done during the period February to October 2014, adopting descriptive epidemiological exploratory survey design, included 400 representative families from Agashivnagar slum area in Karad City, under Urban Health Centre, Department of Community Medicine, Krishna Institute of Medical Sciences. Preformed, pretested, semi structured interview schedule was used for data collection. Results Females and males respondents are, 275 (68.7 %) and 125 (31.3 %) respectively, mainly in the age group of 18 -40 years. Head of the family (males), are decision makers for health seeking behaviour of family members. Use of Public sector services is admitted by only 196 (49.0 %) individuals. Availability of free services (87, 21.8 %), close distance and fast treatment (80, 20.0 %), cheap (65, 16.3 %), better treatment and facilities (55, 13.7 %), reputed hospital and doctors (50, 12.5 %), effective treatment & convenient place (37, 9.3 %) are important reasons for obtaining services from the places of choice.183 (45.7 %) respondents agreed self medication, mainly for headache, generalised body ache, cough/cold/fever, abdominal pain and acidity problems. Age group (18-40 years), sex (males), religion (Hindu) and educational status (Literates) have shown significant influence on practices of self medication. There is no mention about visiting traditional healer or quack. Conclusion Even though aware about public health services, they remain low at preference level, highlighting scope to enhance their utilization.