Health Seeking Behaviour of Afar Pastoral Community 
Suadiq Sufian Ali1, Bisrat Tekle Woldearegai2
1Suadiq Sufian Ali, PhD Scholar, Department of Sociology, Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology, Bhubaneswar (Odisha), India.
2Bisrat Tekle Woldearegai, PhD Scholar, Department of Sociology and Social Work, Arsi Sociology, Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology, Bhubaneswar (Odisha), India.
Manuscript received on 27 August 2019 | Revised Manuscript received on 03 September 2019 | Manuscript Published on 14 September 2019 | PP: 292-296 | Volume-8 Issue-5S3, July 2019 | Retrieval Number: E10650785S319/19©BEIESP | DOI: 10.35940/ijeat.E1065.0785S319
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© The Authors. Blue Eyes Intelligence Engineering and Sciences Publication (BEIESP). This is an open access article under the CC-BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
Abstract: Community level health seeking behavior needs investigation since community plays either protective or pathogenic role to health. This study, therefore, intended to examine the health seeking behavior of Afar using a community based cross-sectional survey design. The survey employed both quantitative and qualitative methods to collect relevant data. The findings revealed that a substantial number of participants have had misconceptions and/or erroneous knowledge about the causes and symptoms of illnesses. Besides, most of the participants preferred treatment service from modern health care institutions. Their choice is significantly associated with age and level of education. Moreover, various factors including cost, distance, attitude toward health, decision-making power on health, perceived satisfaction, social capital and socio-religious behaviour affect the utilization of available health care services. In general, the findings implied the presence of a positive health seeking behavior among Afar that can be further strengthened with interventions. The interventions should address the misconceptions about causes/symptoms of illnesses and promote appropriate hierarchy of resort to the utilization of available health care services.
Keywords: Health Seeking Behavior, Illness, Diseases, Symptoms, Causes.
Scope of the Article: Healthcare Informatics