ABSTRACT
It presents the findings of a sociocultural research project to learn more about consumers' attitudes and behavioural patterns with regard to allopathic and traditional medicines; researchers collected data on socioeconomic characteristics, the availability and cost of medicines, sources of knowledge about health care and actions taken to treat recent illness in the family. Document in pdf format; Acrobat Reader required.
Subject(s)
Allopathic Practices , Medicine, African Traditional , Drug UtilizationABSTRACT
In many developing countries there has not been any systematic analysis of societal beliefs and attitudes towards drug entities, the meaning which is attributed to drugs and their effects and how such meanings might influence drug consumption and health seeking behaviour. It is in many developing countries that a lot of antimicrobial agents are available freely over the counter or on the street. This is said to make the assessment of the therapeutic outcome during their use often very difficult. The present study has shown that continued health education while at the same time paying attention to societal beliefs and attitudes towards infectious diseases and medicines used, is required. The specific aims must be to reinforce beliefs that facilitate appropriate use of antimicrobial agents and to discourage those that impede it.
Subject(s)
Anti-Bacterial Agents/therapeutic use , Health Education/standards , Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice , Infections/drug therapy , Adult , Educational Status , Female , Health Education/methods , Humans , Interviews as Topic , Male , Medicine, Traditional , Middle Aged , ZimbabweABSTRACT
Patients' failure to adhere to a well-founded drug regimen is a recognised source of failure to treatment. This may be a result of a deliberate action by the patient or a misinterpretation or inadequate provision of information. By and large, live information sources tend to behave in a reactive fashion; they answer specific questions which patients ask. Similar to individualised drug dosages, information and subsequent communication need tailoring according to wide range of premises related to human beings. The present study on what type of information on drugs, people required, reports some thought provoking findings, for instance, a major fraction of people (70 pc) in the rural areas studied, did not request any information on their medication because health care providers had generally no time to discuss with their patients. Even worse others were thought to be extremely rude. Health care will continue to be inappropriate unless the care providers, at all levels, are able to understand their patients perceptions, by asking how they care about health and disease in general; whether they agree with the diagnosis and the need for the intervention recommended; and finally whether compliance with drug regimen is feasible.
Subject(s)
Drug Information Services , Patient Compliance , Patient Education as Topic , Adolescent , Adult , Female , Health Personnel , Humans , Male , Patient Education as Topic/classification , Rural Population , Urban PopulationABSTRACT
The failure of patients to follow drug regimens may be due to lack of information or the negative attitudes of patients and health care providers. We have found that most patients in rural areas did not ask for information about their treatment because they felt their health carers had little time for such matters. These problems will continue unless practitioners at all levels make better efforts to understand their patients' perceptions of illness and treatment, and especially whether compliance with drug treatment is feasible.
PIP: The failure of up to half of all patients in developing countries to adhere to recommended drug regimens may reflect inadequate physician- provider communication rather than resistance to treatment. There is substantial evidence that patients are more likely to conform to treatment regimens when they are fully informed about their medical condition and the medication prescribed. To investigate the extent to which patients in Zimbabwe received this type of information, household heads in 910 households in the Mashonaland West Province were interviewed. The sample included equal numbers of respondents from urban, rural, and commercial farming areas. Diseases most commonly reported by rural residents and farmers were diarrhea, influenza, cough, hypertension, and malaria. Most of the illnesses were attributed to natural or supernatural causes, and 80% of respondents in these subsamples claimed to distrust their health care provider and never asked questions about medications prescribed. The rural residents perceived health care personnel as too busy to answer questions and did not believe they would understand any information offered. On the other hand, these respondents indicated they would like to have information on the cause of their illness, its duration and treatment, the best way to take prescribed drugs, actions to take when drugs produce side effects, and storage of medication. Physicians who treat semi-literate rural residents with indigenous health beliefs are urged to provide information about medication tailored to match the individual perceptions and needs of the patient. This need is less urgent in urban areas, where 60% of respondents had general knowledge about the action of various medicines and were able to obtain information from pharmacists.
Subject(s)
Drug Information Services/organization & administration , Health Behavior , Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice , Patient Education as Topic/methods , Treatment Refusal , Drug Information Services/trends , HumansABSTRACT
The failure of patience to follow drug regimens may be due to lack of information or the negative attitudes of patients and health care providers. We have found that most patients in rural areas did not ask for information about their treatment because they felt their health carers had little time for such matters. These problems will continue unless practitioners at all levels make better efforts to understand their patients' perceptions of illness and treatment; and especially whether compliance with drug treatment is feasible
Subject(s)
Drug Information Services , Patient ComplianceABSTRACT
The objectives of the study were to gain knowledge about people's patterns of behavior in relation to drugs and modern health care facilities with particular reference to the way in which the perception and use of drugs may be influenced by the following cultural and socio-economic determinants. The quantitative data from the survey have been combined with qualitative data from the group interviews to provide a comprehensive picture of people's perceptions and behavior with regard to illness and treatment
