AFRO-NETS> Psychological Factors Related with Health Care Behavior

["Dr. Shamim ul Moula" <shormin@tistaonline.com>]

Psychological Factors Related with Health Care Behavior
-------------------------------------------------------
of the Rural Bangladeshi People

Findings of a Ph.D. thesis

Dear all,

Best wishes to all. Recently I completed the piloting phase of my 
Ph.D. thesis titled "Psychological factors related with Health Care 
Behavior of the rural Bangladeshi People". A wide range of interest-
ing findings came out after data analysis. Followings are some of 
them: 

"In most cases, the respondents showed considerable interest to dis-
cuss the issues, which they thought and perceived as their own sto-
ries and matters of their everyday life. It was a great success for 
the interviewer that the discussions could be placed in the huts, 
courtyards or under the trees of a typical rural Bangladeshi village 
where all the elements regarding the myths with their associations 
with lives had been prevailing. 

Dark green trees, bushes, mysterious bamboo bunches, shadows etc. al-
ways maintained a mystic atmosphere while taking the in-depth inter-
views. People were free to express feelings, their imaginations, and 
realities, which sometimes became surrealistic. There were delusions, 
super values, creativities etc. Their health care behavior or psy-
chology was reflected through their responses, which had been modi-
fied by the underlying factors, the psychological factors forming the 
basis of the psychology or behavior. They informed of their knowl-
edge, perceptions and practices related to their health care behavior 
in relation to their world of imagination and myths. 

They freely informed about the presence of the government health ser-
vice delivery centers nearby; they also informed about their inter-
ests in those. They didn't feel hesitatant to express the cause of 
their interest and disinterests regarding those. They also stated 
their satisfactions and dissatisfactions regarding GoB (Government of 
Bangladesh) health service centers. A vast majority expressed their 
dissatisfaction for treatment in GoB hospitals. A fair majority in-
formed "no medicines available" as their reason for not going to GoB 
hospitals (anyone) for treatment, whereas, others informed of their 
reasons as the absence of doctors, bad road communication for going 
for treatment and bad behavior of the doctors respectively. 

All of them suggested quack/non-MBBS private doctors as the service 
outlet for the treatment of their family members, whereas, nearly all 
informed of religious/spiritual healers and a little less stated of 
homeopath/kabiraji/traditional healers. Curiously NGO outlets had 
been described for the same by only few of the respondents. 

Only few expressed their satisfaction in treatment wherever they get 
that. Curiously interesting is the finding that, a vast majority re-
mained "dissatisfied" with treatment, even in their outlets/hospitals 
of choice for the treatment of their family members! Nearly all be-
lieved the etiology of disease as "from the anger of Allah/God", 
whereas there were a fair majority who thought the etiology as "from 
infection by germs" along with the previous cause. A fair majority 
informed of providing first aid in home for patients. In most cases, 
the female chiefs (mother) of the corresponding families had super-
vised the family first aid/care of the patients. Vast majority ex-
pressed their beliefs in traditional/folk medicine............." 

--
If anyone of you want to share anything regarding the findings, 
please contact me at <shormin@tistaonline.com> . I want to have some 
field work experience and knowledge regarding the issue of health 
care behavior of the populations in other countries, especially in 
Africa/Far East. If possible, I am willing to work with any 
NGO/others there for sometime in health care delivery program. Please 
inform me any scope regarding that.

Dr. Shamim ul Moula
MBBS, Ph.D. Fellow
Coordinator, Community Health & Nutrition
Chinnamukul, Bangladesh
(Program funded by Terre Des Homme Switzerland and Italy in Bangladesh)
mailto:shormin@tistaonline.com

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