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Publication Details
AFRICAN RESEARCH NEXUS
SHINING A SPOTLIGHT ON AFRICAN RESEARCH
medicine
Which doctor?: Determinants of utilization of formal and informal health care in postconflict Liberia
Medical Care, Volume 49, No. 6, Year 2011
Notification
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Description
Background: Liberia is rebuilding its health system after a lengthy civil war in which traditional health care was the only reliable source of care. Objective: This study explored individual, village, and health system factors related to the utilization of health clinics versus informal providers (eg, healers, medicine sellers) in Liberia. Research Design, Participants, And Measures: This was a cross-sectional population-representative survey of 1435 adults living in rural Nimba County, Liberia. Participants were asked about past year visits to traditional and formal health care providers and demographics, health, and trauma indicators. The association between formal and informal visits and potential determinants was estimated in separate models using generalized estimating equations to adjust for village-level clustering. Results: The median number of visits in the past year to formal and informal providers was 3 and 10, respectively. Clinic visits increased with younger age and female sex, past trauma exposure, the number of traditional healers, and the presence of a facility dispenser. Frequency of informal visits increased with poor self-reported mental and physical health, the presence of facility fees and decreased with literacy and wealth and satisfaction with the formal health system. Conclusions: Rural Liberians use both formal and informal health care extensively and as complements rather than substitutes. The reliance on traditional medicine to address health needs is of concern in a country with a high disease burden. Health system investments that build public confidence in the health system may help shift demand from informal to formal health care. Copyright © 2011 by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
Authors & Co-Authors
Kruk, Margaret Elizabeth
United States, New York
Mailman School of Public Health
Rockers, Peter C.
United States, Boston
Harvard T.h. Chan School of Public Health
Varpilah, S. Tornorlah
Liberia, Welfare
Republic of Liberia Ministry of Health and Social
MacAuley, Rose Jallah
Liberia, Welfare
Republic of Liberia Ministry of Health and Social
United States, Arlington
Basic Support for Institutionalizing Child Survival
Statistics
Citations: 38
Authors: 4
Affiliations: 4
Identifiers
Doi:
10.1097/MLR.0b013e31820f0dd4
ISSN:
00257079
e-ISSN:
15371948
Research Areas
Health System And Policy
Study Design
Cross Sectional Study
Study Approach
Quantitative
Study Locations
Liberia
Participants Gender
Female