TITLE:
Social and Economic Factors Influencing Buruli Ulcer Health Seeking Decision Making in the Ga West and South Municipalities
AUTHORS:
Collins K. Ahorlu, Eric Koka, Seth Kumordzi, Dorothy Yeboah-Manu, Edwin Ampadu
KEYWORDS:
Buruli Ulcer; Treatment Decision Making; Ghana; Socioeconomic
JOURNAL NAME:
Advances in Applied Sociology,
Vol.3 No.4,
August
21,
2013
ABSTRACT: Background:Buruli ulcer
infection is generally referred to as a re-emerging disease with the highest burden
in West Africa. In Ghana, about 1000 cases are reported annually. The former Ga
district (now the Ga West and Ga South municipalities) continues to report the
highest proportion of the worst ulcerated wounds in Ghana, despite various
interventions implemented. The aim of this study was to determine factors
affecting treatment-related decision making in BU affected families. Methods: Semi-structured questionnaire
interview was conducted with 33 patients (≥15 years) and seven caretakers of
children aged below 15 years to determine the social and economic factors
influencing BU-related health seeking decision making and types of treatment
choices that are made. Results:
Respondents were afflicted with varied categories of the disease (category one
(30%), category two (35%) and category three (35%)). Decisions to seek health
care from biomedical facilities are influenced by factors such as advice from health workers (45.0%) and advice from family members (42.5%). Only
a quarter (25%) of respondents actually mentioned “financial considerations” as one of the factors that influence
their decision to seek for biomedical care. Whereas there was no significant
relationship between family involvement in treatment decision making and
category one (p = 0.5351) lesion,
there was a significant relationship between family involvement in treatment
decision making and categories two (p = 0.0434) and three (p = 0.0089)
lesions. Conclusion: It appears from this study that
financial consideration, which has been widely cited as a cause of treatment
delay may be losing its influence to social factors. With the advent of free
antibiotics treatment more studies are needed to identify social factors
affecting BU treatment decision making so as to redesign health promotion
messages appropriately, especially those aimed at getting patients into early
treatment.