Original Research
Seeking care for epilepsy and its impacts on households in a rural district in southern Malawi
Submitted: 03 January 2013 | Published: 30 September 2013
About the author(s)
Alister Munthali, Centre for Social Research, University of Malawi, MalawiStine H. Braathen, SINTEF Technology and Society, Oslo, Norway
Lisbet Grut, SINTEF Technology and Society, Oslo, Norway
Yusman Kamaleri, SINTEF Technology and Society, Oslo, Norway
Benedicte Ingstad, Department of Community Medicine, University of Oslo, Norway
Abstract
Objectives: This article explores the health-seeking behaviour of people with epilepsy in a rural town in southern Malawi and how having a person with epilepsy impacts on the households’ productivity.
Method: A snowball approach was used to identify persons with various forms of disabilities. The article is based on a bigger study carried out in Malawi which explored how persons with disabilities seek health care. In this bigger study, a total of 63 interviews were done with persons with disabilities or their guardians. Eight of the 63 interviews were with persons with epilepsy and this article is based on these interviews.
Results: The study found that persons with epilepsy seek both traditional and modern medicines to treat the condition. Informants mentioned that barriers to accessing western treatment include lack of medicines, congestion at health facilities, lack of knowledge about epilepsy, misdiagnosis by health workers and the belief that epilepsy caused by witchcraft cannot be treated by western medicine. The study also highlights the wider impacts of epilepsy on the household such as the failure of children to attend school, children dropping out of school, stigma and discrimination and households being driven deeper into poverty as a result of seeking care for members with epilepsy.
Conclusion: The existing barriers to accessing treatment for epilepsy can be addressed by using a combination of public education, simple treatments and regular reviews. Ensuring constant availability of drugs for the treatment of epilepsy is key to effective treatment of the condition. This would contribute to closing the treatment gap for epilepsy as advocated by the Global Campaign against Epilepsy.Keywords
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