Understanding health care seeking behavior in a tribal setting in West Bengal

BACKGROUND: The health-related problems of the tribal population depend on their ecology and culture. Often the tribal people do not utilize the medical and preventive health services available to them. Health problems in tribal groups need special attention because many tribal communities are backward. The current study was planned to determine the healthcare-seeking behavior of the tribal population in India. METHOD: A descriptive, cross-sectional study, conducted by interviewing key respondents of each participating family. RESULT: Two-thirds of the key respondents were literate and half (53.8%) of the total households in the three villages had a per capita monthly income between Rupees 500-1499. More than half (57%) of all respondents preferred government institutions for moderate illness, and the rest equally opted for private practitioners and quacks. However, for emergencies, dog bites, and snake bites, all key respondents in the three study villages unanimously preferred government institutions. A significant population (38.5%) got their children delivered at home. The majority of illiterate respondents (86.1%) preferred government institutions for health care of under-five children, while 60% of literates expressed a similar view. The choice of government institutions as a source of health care was increasingly favored with decreasing per capita monthly household income. CONCLUSION: Traditional healers are no longer preferred among the tribal population but they are reluctant to avail them because of the loss of valuable time. Home delivery is still prevalent. With improving socioeconomic status, people are going further away from government services as private practitioners, and quacks take less time.