Poor health seeking behaviour, a time bomb in the communities

Poor health seeking behaviour, a time bomb in the communities

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:02

Welcome to our feature. Today we are discussing a crucial topic that affects us all. The importance of seeking early treatment. Join us as we explore why prompt medical attention can make all the difference in maintaining good health and preventing complications. I'm Christine Dale. Health is wealth is more than just a phrase. Prioritizing our well-being is crucial, and it is true that prevention and healthy habits at home can go a long way. However, when needed, seeking medical attention promptly can make a huge difference in repairing and maintaining our health. Early detection and treatment can indeed help prevent complications and promote overall well-being. The habit of delaying medical treatment has become alarmingly prevalent, resulting in numerous preventable deaths. This trend highlights the need for increased awareness about the importance of seeking timely medical attention. Good health is one of the most valuable assets we have, yet many of us take it for granted. According to Dr. Amon Nyasindu, it is essential for identifying health issues before they become severe or complicated.

SPEAKER_03 1:28

When someone falls sick, usually disease progresses. It starts as slowly and then eventually it tends to become a very big issue. But when you come to facilities very early, it gives us an opportunity to assess the patient early and also to institute the best investigations, which means we do tests to find out what could be going on. That way it helps us to detect the disease early and then we can give the right treatment early. In the same vein, the patient also improves in time. However, if the patients come in a bit late and we detect the disease a bit late, by that time the patient's disease may have progressed. So the disadvantage could be that yes, the patient becomes a lot more sicker, and then also we end up spending more to treat this patient because now complications have developed. For say example, a patient who has malaria, it starts out slowly, but eventually we can get complications of malaria if we are not treated, including things like anemia, where the blood level of the patient reduces greatly. So if this patient comes in early, we can actually just give medications for swallowing and the patient improves. Of course, patients tend to come to the hospital when they are sick, but we usually encourage the patients to also come to the facilities when they are healthy. It helps us to screen them for possible problems that might go wrong, and we can give them advice to protect them, things like take a healthy diet, drink safe and clean water, sleep under mosquito net, so many things that we can tell you to prevent you from getting sick.

SPEAKER_01 3:08

Dr. Amon Asindu emphasizes the importance of routine checkups. Unfortunately, many individuals neglect these checkups, often only seeking medical attention when it is too late. Knowing one's health status allows for early treatment, which can lead to a cure or effective management of illnesses.

SPEAKER_03 3:31

Personal, I would recommend in a year you should be able to have a general health checkup. Two times, especially if you're an adult, it helps us to screen you for hypertension, what we call high blood pressure or diabetes where the sugar level in the blood is quite high. And then, of course, for the children, there are so many things we can do for them, including giving them some multivitamins to keep them healthy. So usually every six months you can come on a general checkup.

SPEAKER_01 4:02

However, some people face challenges in seeking early treatment. A teacher at Riverview Nursarian Primary School notes that the high cost of treatment and long distances to health facilities can be significant deterrents.

SPEAKER_00 4:20

Financial problems. They feel like they want to first go and treat themselves in the clinics whereby you find they lack money to go there. Some of them are because of distances from where they are, there are no medical facilities or they are very far from them. You see, as exact, they delay to go for treatment. They have problems of transport to reach to the many hospitals, and then sometimes because of the problem of finance, and you also find they are not able to reach to the nearest clinics. For us, we are having clinics nearby. There are also people who are not interested in taking medicine. They don't like medicine. They don't go for treatment. They just think that they will be healed without medicine. You see them delaying, they will be saying, Ah, I will not go because I will get well. As a result, you'll find the sickness worsens. And then this person is not able to walk, and that is when they will take the person for treatment lately.

SPEAKER_01 5:41

Richard Asiko, a resident of Warua City, adds that some individuals are not serious about their health, and that some women delay seeking treatment for their children, which can have fatal consequences. Richard Asiko also highlights the importance of taking responsibility for one's health, stating that many women have lost their children to preventable illnesses like malaria due to delayed treatment.

SPEAKER_02 6:10

People don't come for early treatment, especially the mothers, they don't take their children to treatment just in early time like that because they don't take it seriously. They will first want to assess the condition of the sickness and they may not know any health condition can deteriorate at any time, especially when handling children. It's always important to take your child for treatment. As soon as you just feel that your child is not feeling okay, don't waste time there. You take the child to clinically, they will assess it there. If it is the condition which they can attend, they will help you at that time. So if you take long, I think it will not help the child that will now need referral. I'm always harsh with the mothers because I don't know what is happening with them because they just take their own time, they will just do things which are not necessary. They cannot even focus on their children.

SPEAKER_01 7:08

Some potential consequences of delayed treatment include increased mortality rates. Delayed treatment can lead to severe health complications, making it more challenging to save lives. Another consequence is prolonged suffering. Untreated conditions can cause prolonged pain, discomfort, and reduced quality of life. Delayed treatment can result in permanent damage to organs or systems, leading to chronic health issues. To break this habit, it is essential to prioritize health. Recognize the importance of seeking medical attention promptly when symptoms arise. By promoting a culture of timely medical attention, we can reduce preventable deaths.