ABSTRACT
Objective: The overall aim of the project was to understand healthcare utilization patterns and access to and trust in resources regarding malaria and other febrile illness in two regions (Port-au-Prince and Artibonite Département) differentially affected by the 2010 earthquake.
Methods: In 2012-2013, a cross-sectional survey was conducted with clinic patients regarding local perceptions of febrile illnesses, treatment patterns, malaria knowledge, information sources for malaria, and perceived trustworthiness of these sources.
Results: Overall, hospitals, pharmacies, and clinics were commonly used facilities for treatment of febrile illness; however, over 72% of respondents also used traditional medication. Respondents with higher education were more likely to use pharmacies and biomedical and traditional medications than those with lower education. Respondents reported that children were more vulnerable to fever than adults. Respondents were knowledgeable about malaria; however, numbers and types of sources of information used about malaria varied significantly by demographic characteristics including gender, education, region, and residency. Trust in resources varied by types of resources, respondent demographics, and health utilization patterns.
Conclusion: Healthcare utilization practices and access to reliable and trusted health information resources are significant factors in prevention and treatment of infectious diseases including malaria and other acute febrile illnesses. Differential use of health facilities and resources can result in health disparities between demographic and socio-economic groups. These preliminary data suggest the need for community-based research on perceived access to healthcare facilities and resources and trust in those resources to facilitate development of targeted sustainable education and intervention programs.
Manuscripts that are Published Ahead of Print have been peer reviewed and accepted for publication by the Editorial Board of the West Indian Medical Journal. They may appear in their original format and may not be copy edited or formatted in the style guide of this Journal. While accepted manuscripts are not yet assigned a volume, issue or page numbers, they can be cited using the DOI and date of e-publication. See our Instructions for Authors on how to properly cite manuscripts at this stage. The contents of the manuscript may change before it is published in its final form. Manuscripts in this section will be removed once they have been issued to a volume and issue, but will still retain the DOI and date of e-publication.
Our 7 faculties and 12 professional schools offer more than 200 programmes to some 18,000 graduate, undergraduate and continuing studies students.
The UWI, Mona ranks first in Jamaica among accredited tertiary-level programmes. In 2012, the University was again one of Jamaica’s Top 100 Employers.
