Cristin-resultat-ID: 1054765
Sist endret: 20. januar 2015, 14:14
NVI-rapporteringsår: 2013
Resultat
Vitenskapelig artikkel
2013

Seeking care for epilepsy and its impacts on households in a rural district in southern Malawi

Bidragsytere:
  • Alister Munthali
  • Stine Hellum Braathen
  • Lisbet Grut
  • Yusman Kamaleri og
  • Benedicte Ingstad

Tidsskrift

African Journal of Disability
ISSN 2223-9170
e-ISSN 2226-7220
NVI-nivå 1

Om resultatet

Vitenskapelig artikkel
Publiseringsår: 2013
Publisert online: 2013
Trykket: 2013
Volum: 2
Hefte: 1
Open Access

Beskrivelse Beskrivelse

Tittel

Seeking care for epilepsy and its impacts on households in a rural district in southern Malawi

Sammendrag

Background: Epilepsy is a disability as defined in the 2012 Disability Act of the Government of Malawi. 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.

Bidragsytere

Alister Munthali

  • Tilknyttet:
    Forfatter
    ved University of Malawi - Branch: College of Medicine

Stine Hellum Braathen

  • Tilknyttet:
    Forfatter
    ved Helse ved SINTEF AS

Lisbet Grut

  • Tilknyttet:
    Forfatter
    ved Helse ved SINTEF AS
Aktiv cristin-person

Yusman Bin Kamaleri

Bidragsyterens navn vises på dette resultatet som Yusman Kamaleri
  • Tilknyttet:
    Forfatter
    ved Helse ved SINTEF AS
Inaktiv cristin-person

Benedicte Ingstad

  • Tilknyttet:
    Forfatter
    ved Avdeling for samfunnsmedisin og global helse ved Universitetet i Oslo
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