Health-Seeking Behavior of Rural Dwellers in Southern Nigeria: Implications for Healthcare Professionals
Godfrey B.S. Iyalomhe, Sarah I. Iyalomhe
International Journal of TROPICAL DISEASE & Health · pp. 62–71 · Published 4 Mar 2012
10.9734/IJTDH/2012/973Abstract
The Nigerian rural people demonstrate undesirable health-seeking behavior because of their cosmological and nosological notions which ascribe etiology of diseases and ill-health to entities far beyond the realm of the stethoscope. The present review is therefore solicited to enhance the health status of rural dwellers by providing potentially useful guidance that will enhance the knowledge of healthcare professionals with respect to the peculiar health-seeking behavior of rural dwellers so as to promote good patient-physician interaction and to provide empirical basis for rational health policy formulation. A manual literature and internet (Google, Medline, Embase, HINARI and Cochrane data bases) search showed that in a pluralistic medical milieu in which the rural dwellers find themselves, the decision to seek healthcare, where to do this and the form of care perceived as appropriate are all influenced by a multiplicity of factors relating to the person, the facility and the socio-cultural environment. Primarily, religious beliefs, use of Traditional African Medicine (TAM) and patients’ perception of reality influence health-seeking behavior. In order to adequately and successfully manage the Nigerian rural patients, the healthcare provider must pay attention to patients’ impression of illness and underpinning health beliefs during consultation, in therapeutics and in handling evolving complications of TAM and ethical dilemmas. Improvement of rural infrastructure and behavioral health promotion campaigns among the rural people together with rational health policy formulation and regulation of TAM practice, are imperative.
Cited by 11
Abdulkareem Jubril Fikayomi, Efe Precious Enaibe, Toluwanimi Jedidiah Obayori · 2025
Omobola Ojo, A Ahmed, A Ahmed · Babcock University Medical Journal (BUMJ) · 2021
Nathanael Afolabi, Benjamin Bukky Ilesanmi, Victor Enangama · IJID Regions · 2025
Likawunt Samuel Asfaw, Samuel Yohannes Ayanto, Yitagessu Habtu Aweke · 2018
Ugochukwu U. Onyeonoro, Okechukwu S. Ogah, Andrew U. Ukegbu · Health Services Insights · 2016
R.S. Okoye, L. Bell, I. Papadopoulos · Public Health · 2018
Saidu I Ngulde, Francis Fezeu, Arjun Ramesh · Cureus · 2015
C. C. Ezeh, O. H. Ezeh · Open Journal of Medical Psychology · 2017
Oluwaseyi Adewunmi Sodeinde, Helen Odunola Adekoya, Johnson Babafemi Akintayo · American Journal of Health Education · 2022
Michael Amponsah Kodom · Pan-African Journal of Health and Environmental Science · 2022
Related research
- First Trimester Fasting Blood Glucose as a Screening Tool for Diabetes Mellitus in a Teaching Hospital Setting in Nigeria — shares topic coverage
- The Nature and Complications of Acute Traumatic Cervical Spinal Cord Injury in a University Hospital in Nigeria — shares topic coverage
- Musculoskeletal Complications of Sickle Cell Anaemia and Their Management Approaches in Makurdi, Nigeria — shares topic coverage
- Work-related Musculoskeletal Disorders among Radiologists in Nigeria — shares topic coverage
- The Skills of Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation in Some Professional and Student Teachers Compared — shares topic coverage
Article metrics
Real usage data collected on this platform.
0
Page views
0
PDF downloads
0
Outbound clicks
11
Citations
Views by country
Approximate, from request IP at view time — not citizenship or institution. Countries with fewer than 5 views are grouped as "Other".
No views recorded yet.
Traffic sources
Referring site, by host.
No traffic recorded yet.
Views and downloads exclude known bots/crawlers. Citations combines this platform's own DOI-resolved index with each external source's own reported total — see Cited by above for individually listed citing works. Last refreshed 0 seconds ago.