Socio-Economic Factors Associated with Health-Seeking Behaviour Among Women of Reproductive Age Attending Enugu State University Teaching Hospital, Nigeria: A Hospital-Based Cross-Sectional Study

Background: The Enugu state University Teaching hospital is one of the three hospitals located in Enugu Metropolis which is the epicenter of South East Nigeria. Most women of reproductive age spanning across different socio-economic group register for their ante-natal care in these teaching hospitals.

Objective: The objective of the study is to assess the socio-economic factors associated with the health seeking behavior among women of reproductive age attending the ESU Teaching Hospital.

Method: A cross-sectional study was used for this study. Using a pretested interviewer-administered questionnaire, information was obtained regarding such demographic characteristics as age, marital status, educational status and religious affiliation. There were also questions on the social factors and the economic factors affecting their HSB. The information was obtained from the sample size of 350 women selected randomly from the population attending the antenatal and postnatal clinics in a study that was carried out during the period July to August 2022.

Results: Most of the respondents fell within the age group 26-35years (44%) while the least number fell between the age group 46-55years (7.4%). 56.6% were married while 71.1% had acquired a tertiary education, 94.3% were Christians. Concerning the social factors affecting their HSB, the greatest percentage (72.6%) of them said they patronize the Orthodox Health Facilities. When asked about their various sources of income, 35.7% said they were business women. 42.3% of respondents say that the most important factor that influences their HSB is their income i.e. affordability. Table 4 is the Chi-square test of the association between the socio-demographic factors and places where the respondents access health care. The result shows the value was significant since it was less than 0.05.

Conclusion: Our results show that the greatest percentage of the women who attend the teaching hospital fall within the age group 26-35years which is a relatively young age group whereas the elderly patients are very few. This study was done on women in the antenatal and postnatal clinics and that is why the age group below 15years and above 55years were excluded. Our results also show that one of the most important factors affecting their HSB is their income ie the ability to afford the healthcare. This is not unexpected because most if not all health facilities (both government and private) require payment either through health insurance or out-of-pocket payment at the points of service. In the environment of this study however, only the government workers are covered by health insurance whereas the greatest percentage of our respondents are business women who pay out-of pocket.