Treatment seeking Preferences for their Illness among the Fishermen Community in Ennore Creek

Background/Objectives: Treatment seeking behaviour is of prime importance and plays a pivotal role in the well being of the individual as well as the community. Few studies have addressed the morbidity pattern, treatment seeking preferences of specific diseases but yet there is a dearth of literature in general and more so for fishermen community.The aim of this study is to determine the treatment seeking preferences for their illness among the fishermen residing in Ennore Creek situated on the East coast of India. Methods/Analysis: A cross sectional study was done among the fishing community in Ennore Creek which is located at the fringe area of North Chennai of Thiruvallur District, Tamil Nadu, India. The cluster sampling method was adopted and 30 clusters were randomly selected by the probability Proportionate to Size (PPS) method. The structured questionnaire was used to collect information regarding details of the illness, details regarding the treatment and about their treatment seeking preferences. The study population included individuals with illness who are living in the nine fishing wards of Ennore Creek for the last six months. Data entry and analysis was done using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 15. Descriptive statistics were calculated for the treatment seeking preferences for their illness. Findings: Among the 780 study participants who have had illness in the last six months, the proportion of subjects who sought care for their illness was found to be 89.2% among the fishing community from all age groups. In this study among the subjects who sought care from a health care provider, 52% subjects sought care from qualified professionals who practiced modern medical care (allopathic system of medicine) or indigenous system of medicine while 43.2% received care from unqualified practitioner or from unqualified drug store salesman and 4.8% subjects received native treatment from unqualified personnel. Improvements: The healthcare system in fishing community encompasses care providers ranging from traditional/folk medicine to modern medical care by qualified professionals and by unqualified personnel from both private and public sectors. The picture of healthcare delivery in this fishermen community is alarming as there seems to be large sector of the population receiving treatment of unqualified personnel who lack formal medical training.