Abstract:

Background: Early health seeking behavior is very important as far as human health is concerned. It has been a challenge especially among men which due to various socio-economic reasons seems to be the most affected group of individuals. The aim of this study was to determine timing pattern and socioeconomic factors influencing of healthcare seeking among men at Nyamagana district in Mwanza Tanzania.

Methodology: This was a cross sectional study conducted among 384 men at Nyamagana district in Mwanza Tanzania. Social-demographic data and other information were obtained by using a pre-tested semi structured questionnaire. The collected data were cleaned and analyzed by SPSS v.20 software. Descriptive statistics including frequency was used to summarize participant’s baseline social demographic data. For categorical variables the relationship between healthcare seeking behavior and mode of payment, preferred alternatives, and accessibility of healthcare services were determined using chi-square statistics at P<0.05 level of significance.

Results: The study revealed 46% (177/384) men did not seek medical care every time they fell ill. (145/384) men preferred the use of alternative means among them 122 men preferred going to the pharmacy. The study also revealed 219 men had no NHIF cards which resulted to 140 men not seeking medical care whenever ill compared to (37/165) men with NHIF cards. In addition to this, among the 219 men without NHIF cards, 161 men reported high fees for the NHIF services as the main factor for not acquiring them.

Conclusion: A large number of men did not seek medical help on time despite a good geographical coverage of healthcare services, due to preference use of alternative means like over the counter medicine and avoiding medical expenses. However, there was no statistically significant difference in health seeking behavior based on education level and marital status of men at Nyamagana.