The role of self medication in rural areas

Abstract

The subject matter has been studied firstly with a view to showing whether the people living in the Defined Area of Kasangati Health Centre are treating themselves by traditional or customary methods (taboos and native medicines), or by the modern ways as practised at the Health Centre at Kasangati. Secondly, it was hoped to discover how much people prefer to attend the outpatient dispensary of the Health Centre, or to buy their basic drugs from the village shopping centre at Kasangati or Gayaza for self medication. Thirdly, it was hoped to learn something of the incentives behind the practice of self medication - was it a cost incentive, as the shops were nearer to the homes, or was it a form of malingering, by attendance at overcrowded dispensaries resulting in the loss of working time, or was it something wholly different ? Fourthly, it was hoped to discover whether patients preferred the new to the old ways in prevention and cure, and fifthly, whether there was any interest in the simplest possible subjects of public health importance, e.g. teaching on nutrition to prevent kwashiorkor or the importance of breast feeding to avoid marasmus, maternity and child health services in the avoidance of childhood infections, and so on. The study has shown the usefulness of the health centre in every respect. The people like the use of modern (allopathic) treatment. The gentry follow the instructions given to them about their health problems, for example, nutrition, inmunisation, and sanitation, consequently it is found that the people living in the Area are healthy, cleaner and cautious about their health problems. In short the Health Centre services should be extended as the finances of the government concerned allow.