Health Seeking Behaviours and Challenges to Utilizing Health Facilities in the North West Region of Cameroon

Joel Ngwa Ambebila; Ebenezer Obi Daniel; Paul Olaiya Abiodun; Israel Olukayode Popoola; Stellamaris Moronkeji; Ahmed Mamuda Bello; Olayinka Victor Ojo; Christie Omolola Adams

doi:doi:10.11648/j.cajph.20200602.11

Health Seeking Behaviours and Challenges to Utilizing Health Facilities in the North West Region of Cameroon

Joel Ngwa Ambebila, Ebenezer Obi Daniel, Paul Olaiya Abiodun, Israel Olukayode Popoola, Stellamaris Moronkeji, Ahmed Mamuda Bello, Olayinka Victor Ojo, Christie Omolola Adams

Published in Central African Journal of Public Health (Volume 6, Issue 2)

Received: 15 January 2020 Accepted: 27 January 2020 Published: 11 February 2020

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Abstract

In a given community, health seeking behaviours determine how health care services are used. This in turn determine the health outcomes on members of this community. Utilization of health care facilities can be determined by cost, cultural beliefs, level of education, family incomeand distance to health facility. The purpose of this study was to determine the influence of socio-demographic factors on healthcare seeking behaviors and challenges in utilizing health facilities in the North West Region of Cameroon. The study was a cross sectional survey that used a structured questionnaire to collect quantitative data from 430 participants. The findings showed that despite low incomes and education levels, the study communities have moderate levels of access to services for curative and preventive care. About half of the participants preferred Government health facilities (50.5%) while a small number of participants preferred seeking care from traditional medicine (0.9%). In rural areas, Government health facilities are more preferred than in urban areas; 69.6% of participants in rural zones preferred government facilities whereas they were 43.7% in urban areas (p<0.001, V=0.228). In conclusion, the study sought to evaluate health seeking behaviors of rural and urban dwellers. The goal is to trigger discussions and re-evaluation of health promotion and education policies and programmes to bring about improvement in health seeking behaviours and address issues around health disparities and inequalities.

Published in	Central African Journal of Public Health (Volume 6, Issue 2)
DOI	10.11648/j.cajph.20200602.11
Page(s)	55-61
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Health Seeking Behaviours, Health Facilities, Cameroon

References

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APA Style

Joel Ngwa Ambebila, Ebenezer Obi Daniel, Paul Olaiya Abiodun, Israel Olukayode Popoola, Stellamaris Moronkeji, et al. (2020). Health Seeking Behaviours and Challenges to Utilizing Health Facilities in the North West Region of Cameroon. Central African Journal of Public Health, 6(2), 55-61. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.cajph.20200602.11

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ACS Style

Joel Ngwa Ambebila; Ebenezer Obi Daniel; Paul Olaiya Abiodun; Israel Olukayode Popoola; Stellamaris Moronkeji, et al. Health Seeking Behaviours and Challenges to Utilizing Health Facilities in the North West Region of Cameroon. Cent. Afr. J. Public Health 2020, 6(2), 55-61. doi: 10.11648/j.cajph.20200602.11

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AMA Style

Joel Ngwa Ambebila, Ebenezer Obi Daniel, Paul Olaiya Abiodun, Israel Olukayode Popoola, Stellamaris Moronkeji, et al. Health Seeking Behaviours and Challenges to Utilizing Health Facilities in the North West Region of Cameroon. Cent Afr J Public Health. 2020;6(2):55-61. doi: 10.11648/j.cajph.20200602.11

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@article{10.11648/j.cajph.20200602.11,
  author = {Joel Ngwa Ambebila and Ebenezer Obi Daniel and Paul Olaiya Abiodun and Israel Olukayode Popoola and Stellamaris Moronkeji and Ahmed Mamuda Bello and Olayinka Victor Ojo and Christie Omolola Adams},
  title = {Health Seeking Behaviours and Challenges to Utilizing Health Facilities in the North West Region of Cameroon},
  journal = {Central African Journal of Public Health},
  volume = {6},
  number = {2},
  pages = {55-61},
  doi = {10.11648/j.cajph.20200602.11},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.cajph.20200602.11},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.cajph.20200602.11},
  abstract = {In a given community, health seeking behaviours determine how health care services are used. This in turn determine the health outcomes on members of this community. Utilization of health care facilities can be determined by cost, cultural beliefs, level of education, family incomeand distance to health facility. The purpose of this study was to determine the influence of socio-demographic factors on healthcare seeking behaviors and challenges in utilizing health facilities in the North West Region of Cameroon. The study was a cross sectional survey that used a structured questionnaire to collect quantitative data from 430 participants. The findings showed that despite low incomes and education levels, the study communities have moderate levels of access to services for curative and preventive care. About half of the participants preferred Government health facilities (50.5%) while a small number of participants preferred seeking care from traditional medicine (0.9%). In rural areas, Government health facilities are more preferred than in urban areas; 69.6% of participants in rural zones preferred government facilities whereas they were 43.7% in urban areas (p<0.001, V=0.228). In conclusion, the study sought to evaluate health seeking behaviors of rural and urban dwellers. The goal is to trigger discussions and re-evaluation of health promotion and education policies and programmes to bring about improvement in health seeking behaviours and address issues around health disparities and inequalities.},
 year = {2020}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - Health Seeking Behaviours and Challenges to Utilizing Health Facilities in the North West Region of Cameroon
AU  - Joel Ngwa Ambebila
AU  - Ebenezer Obi Daniel
AU  - Paul Olaiya Abiodun
AU  - Israel Olukayode Popoola
AU  - Stellamaris Moronkeji
AU  - Ahmed Mamuda Bello
AU  - Olayinka Victor Ojo
AU  - Christie Omolola Adams
Y1  - 2020/02/11
PY  - 2020
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.cajph.20200602.11
DO  - 10.11648/j.cajph.20200602.11
T2  - Central African Journal of Public Health
JF  - Central African Journal of Public Health
JO  - Central African Journal of Public Health
SP  - 55
EP  - 61
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2575-5781
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.cajph.20200602.11
AB  - In a given community, health seeking behaviours determine how health care services are used. This in turn determine the health outcomes on members of this community. Utilization of health care facilities can be determined by cost, cultural beliefs, level of education, family incomeand distance to health facility. The purpose of this study was to determine the influence of socio-demographic factors on healthcare seeking behaviors and challenges in utilizing health facilities in the North West Region of Cameroon. The study was a cross sectional survey that used a structured questionnaire to collect quantitative data from 430 participants. The findings showed that despite low incomes and education levels, the study communities have moderate levels of access to services for curative and preventive care. About half of the participants preferred Government health facilities (50.5%) while a small number of participants preferred seeking care from traditional medicine (0.9%). In rural areas, Government health facilities are more preferred than in urban areas; 69.6% of participants in rural zones preferred government facilities whereas they were 43.7% in urban areas (p<0.001, V=0.228). In conclusion, the study sought to evaluate health seeking behaviors of rural and urban dwellers. The goal is to trigger discussions and re-evaluation of health promotion and education policies and programmes to bring about improvement in health seeking behaviours and address issues around health disparities and inequalities.
VL  - 6
IS  - 2
ER  -

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Author Information

Joel Ngwa Ambebila

Department of Public Health, School of Public Health, Texila American University, Georgetown, Guyana South America
Ebenezer Obi Daniel

Department of Public Health, School of Public Health, Texila American University, Georgetown, Guyana South America
Paul Olaiya Abiodun

Department of Public Health, School of Public Health, Texila American University, Georgetown, Guyana South America
Israel Olukayode Popoola

Department of Epidemiology and Community Health, Faculty of Clinical Sciences, College of Medicine, University of Ilorin, Ilorin, Nigeria
Stellamaris Moronkeji

Department of Public Health, School of Public Health, Texila American University, Georgetown, Guyana South America
Ahmed Mamuda Bello

Department of Public Health, School of Public Health, Texila American University, Georgetown, Guyana South America
Olayinka Victor Ojo

Department of Public Health, School of Public Health, Texila American University, Georgetown, Guyana South America
Christie Omolola Adams

Department of Public Health, School of Public Health, Texila American University, Georgetown, Guyana South America

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APA Style

Joel Ngwa Ambebila, Ebenezer Obi Daniel, Paul Olaiya Abiodun, Israel Olukayode Popoola, Stellamaris Moronkeji, et al. (2020). Health Seeking Behaviours and Challenges to Utilizing Health Facilities in the North West Region of Cameroon. Central African Journal of Public Health, 6(2), 55-61. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.cajph.20200602.11

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ACS Style

Joel Ngwa Ambebila; Ebenezer Obi Daniel; Paul Olaiya Abiodun; Israel Olukayode Popoola; Stellamaris Moronkeji, et al. Health Seeking Behaviours and Challenges to Utilizing Health Facilities in the North West Region of Cameroon. Cent. Afr. J. Public Health 2020, 6(2), 55-61. doi: 10.11648/j.cajph.20200602.11

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AMA Style

Joel Ngwa Ambebila, Ebenezer Obi Daniel, Paul Olaiya Abiodun, Israel Olukayode Popoola, Stellamaris Moronkeji, et al. Health Seeking Behaviours and Challenges to Utilizing Health Facilities in the North West Region of Cameroon. Cent Afr J Public Health. 2020;6(2):55-61. doi: 10.11648/j.cajph.20200602.11

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@article{10.11648/j.cajph.20200602.11,
  author = {Joel Ngwa Ambebila and Ebenezer Obi Daniel and Paul Olaiya Abiodun and Israel Olukayode Popoola and Stellamaris Moronkeji and Ahmed Mamuda Bello and Olayinka Victor Ojo and Christie Omolola Adams},
  title = {Health Seeking Behaviours and Challenges to Utilizing Health Facilities in the North West Region of Cameroon},
  journal = {Central African Journal of Public Health},
  volume = {6},
  number = {2},
  pages = {55-61},
  doi = {10.11648/j.cajph.20200602.11},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.cajph.20200602.11},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.cajph.20200602.11},
  abstract = {In a given community, health seeking behaviours determine how health care services are used. This in turn determine the health outcomes on members of this community. Utilization of health care facilities can be determined by cost, cultural beliefs, level of education, family incomeand distance to health facility. The purpose of this study was to determine the influence of socio-demographic factors on healthcare seeking behaviors and challenges in utilizing health facilities in the North West Region of Cameroon. The study was a cross sectional survey that used a structured questionnaire to collect quantitative data from 430 participants. The findings showed that despite low incomes and education levels, the study communities have moderate levels of access to services for curative and preventive care. About half of the participants preferred Government health facilities (50.5%) while a small number of participants preferred seeking care from traditional medicine (0.9%). In rural areas, Government health facilities are more preferred than in urban areas; 69.6% of participants in rural zones preferred government facilities whereas they were 43.7% in urban areas (p<0.001, V=0.228). In conclusion, the study sought to evaluate health seeking behaviors of rural and urban dwellers. The goal is to trigger discussions and re-evaluation of health promotion and education policies and programmes to bring about improvement in health seeking behaviours and address issues around health disparities and inequalities.},
 year = {2020}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - Health Seeking Behaviours and Challenges to Utilizing Health Facilities in the North West Region of Cameroon
AU  - Joel Ngwa Ambebila
AU  - Ebenezer Obi Daniel
AU  - Paul Olaiya Abiodun
AU  - Israel Olukayode Popoola
AU  - Stellamaris Moronkeji
AU  - Ahmed Mamuda Bello
AU  - Olayinka Victor Ojo
AU  - Christie Omolola Adams
Y1  - 2020/02/11
PY  - 2020
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.cajph.20200602.11
DO  - 10.11648/j.cajph.20200602.11
T2  - Central African Journal of Public Health
JF  - Central African Journal of Public Health
JO  - Central African Journal of Public Health
SP  - 55
EP  - 61
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2575-5781
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.cajph.20200602.11
AB  - In a given community, health seeking behaviours determine how health care services are used. This in turn determine the health outcomes on members of this community. Utilization of health care facilities can be determined by cost, cultural beliefs, level of education, family incomeand distance to health facility. The purpose of this study was to determine the influence of socio-demographic factors on healthcare seeking behaviors and challenges in utilizing health facilities in the North West Region of Cameroon. The study was a cross sectional survey that used a structured questionnaire to collect quantitative data from 430 participants. The findings showed that despite low incomes and education levels, the study communities have moderate levels of access to services for curative and preventive care. About half of the participants preferred Government health facilities (50.5%) while a small number of participants preferred seeking care from traditional medicine (0.9%). In rural areas, Government health facilities are more preferred than in urban areas; 69.6% of participants in rural zones preferred government facilities whereas they were 43.7% in urban areas (p<0.001, V=0.228). In conclusion, the study sought to evaluate health seeking behaviors of rural and urban dwellers. The goal is to trigger discussions and re-evaluation of health promotion and education policies and programmes to bring about improvement in health seeking behaviours and address issues around health disparities and inequalities.
VL  - 6
IS  - 2
ER  -

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