Health Seeking Behaviours of Patients Attending Primary Eye Care Centre in Nigeria

Abstract

Purpose: To determine health seeking behaviour in relation to non-orthodox eye medication use among patients attending a primary eye health center in Nigeria. Materials and Methods: It was a cross-sectional study of consecutive respondents. Participants' socio-demographic profile, types and pattern of harmful traditional eye medications (HTEMs) use were obtained using a pre-tested questionnaire. Data analysis was by SPSS version 20.0. Results: Of the 303 patients enrolled in the study, 153 (50.5%) were males and 150 (49.5%) were females. The age range was from 13 years old to 94 years old with a mean of 53.8 ± 17.05 years old. Majority of the subjects (74.3%) used orthodox medical outfits for their eye care needs. The prevalence of use of HTEMs was 11.9%. Common forms of TEMs used were herbs 24 (66.7%), sugar water 3 (8.3%), breast milk 3 (8.3%) and onions 6 (16.7%). There was statistically significant association between age and use of HTEMs (p = 604.27, 2 χ =< 0.001, 95% CI = 0.000 -0.010), and health seeking behaviour (p = 808.70, 2 χ =< 0.001, 95% CI = 0.000 -0.010). Conclusion: Eye care providers and health care managers must have good knowledge of the various factors that negatively influence utilization of eye care services and be responsive to them.