CARE, HEALTH SEEKING AND SOCIAL SUPPORT LEVELS IN UGANDA

Jacob Waiswa
Situation Health Analyst
Dishma-Inc.
P.O. Box 8885,
Kampala-Uganda
Tel. +256392614655/+256752542504
dishma.imhs@gmail.com
www.situationhealthanalysis.blogspot.com

Care begins with oneself before it can be shown to others. Not until one cares about himself that he or she will seek health care –or even be in position to support others.

It calls for resources from within individual means to provide care long before such individuals seek better health policies in place. A functioning health sector calls for empowerment of individuals with knowledge, skills and rewarding employment to become responsive to its design.

At (44%), no (24) and sometimes (34%), most people (56) did not care about themselves and others. This reveals nature of Ugandan society today characterized by broken family and social relationships linked to economic or career stress and associated depressions –once frustrations cropped in. Experts say northern Ugandan has been most affected following the lord’s resistance army and government of Uganda army war.

It was revealed that people suffering from the resultant stress and depression do not have access to the required mental health care. However no relation was shown between person care and health seeking behavior as was showed by P=0.180 > 0.01 (2-tailed).

That meant that regardless of the ignorance about disease prevention measures or limited or no self concern about health status, individuals felt a responsibility to seek medical care. Other factors can be attributed to lack of health seeking behavior are poverty and lack of knowledge about the location of service providers.

Harmful cultural practices are cordoned –whether they mean a threat to life or not. In many cultures in Uganda, women-beating is acceptable and in many cases part of a relationship package. Having been tuned to such cultural thoughts, some women question their husbands’ masculinity if he never beat them –and do provoke such a beating from at times unwilling men.


On the other hand, women in rural areas –especially those living in Eastern and West Nile regions, less educated, rely on subsistence farming –with no cash payment. They are more likely to agree to being beaten. It becomes a cycle once children are involved as objects of abuse.

The boys, who witness parents fighting, are more likely to inflict violence on their peer as adults. Anytime a mother is abused by her partner, the children are also affected: both overt and subtle ways. What hurts the mother hurts the children; children get hurt when they see their parents being yelled at, pushed, or hit. It is psychological abuse to them.


Health seeking is said to have gender connotations –stating the men are likely not to seek health services, but also it comes down to purchasing power and access to health services –which were marked by 46% irregularity and deliberate absenteeism when required to seek medical care.

It, however, can be possible that enlightened Ugandans use preventive approaches, rather than braving to cure ailments. Experience has however showed being dependent on drugs is alone a huge punishment to bear.

And it can be that some of these people (not seeking health services) self-administer care without the need to see doctors for diagnosis. It is in critical cases that they make decision to see health workers. Not to forget are the religions fanatics –who claim and believe in healing without medicine as well as the traditionalists –who have faith in traditional medicine.

For those who sought health care (54%) can be regarded as an impressive group that are concerned about their health conditions as they (health conditions) manifest, but also there can be those whose lifestyles are trouble-seeking so much that they easily catch diseases.

Education appeared to have a positive association with seeking health care demand. For both men and women, there was a gradual increase in the demand for health care upon completion of some primary education through to university education. Those –who had gone up to university demanded formal health care, relative to those with no education.

With (57%), no (9%), sometimes (32%), and don’t know (2%), social support –whose resources tremendously contribute to healing, individual growth and development faces a deficit of 43%. This implies greater individualism and broken extended family system.

People look up for individual needs –which must be satisfied before they shift to live family members and friends. And in situations –where individuals are overwhelmed by poverty, they resort to substance abuse.

That, in turn, worsen the situations to self-extinction, displacement of bitterness to immediate others –through child abuse and violence against spouses, and committing serious crimes of robbery to acquire basic needs forcefully. With 57% prevalence of social support, it implies that some extended families have not been hit by economic misery and they work together to prevent such from happening.

Perhaps, it could influence decisions about the nature family to marry from –assessing status and potentiality. While children could win sympathy and support from society, that is unlikely for youths.

Youths must be very shrewd in their choices in order to achieve meaningful life for themselves. There is an element of survival for the fittest. Adults are further in the worst position –as they grow weak to protest and cause government concern for them. The case of the elderly becomes another question –usually, by far, neglected.

In conclusion, care, health-seeking and social support are important part of health living and primary in community health interventions.

There is need to integrated health care to capture different clientèle choices and decisions to health care and lifestyle that includes health education in all local languages, acknowledgement and support to indigenous medical technologies, health education in schools and welfare development for citizens.