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Table 6 Comparison of outside help-seeking options for cholera in endemic areas of three African settings, by site and gender

From: Comparing sociocultural features of cholera in three endemic African settings

Category

SE-DRC, n = 360

Western Kenya, n = 379

Zanzibar, n = 356

Overall

Total reported

Prominence

 

Total reported

Prominence

 

Total reported

Prominence

 

Faith healers

19.4

0.31

 

18.5

0.23

 

14.9

0.18

 

Healthcare facility

100.0

4.79

 

100.0

4.76

 

100.0

4.64

 

Informal help***

13.6

0.18

 

54.6

0.72

 

55.9

0.86

 

Pharmacy/OTC***

19.4

0.20

 

59.1

0.70

 

34.0

0.36

 

Site comparison

Urban

Rural

P value

Urban

Rural

P value

Urban

Rural

P value

Total reported

Prominence

Total reported

Prominence

Total reported

Prominence

Total reported

Prominence

Total reported

Prominence

Total reported

Prominence

Healthcare facility

100.0

4.69

100.0

4.90

0.001

100.0

4.87

99.5

4.65

0.005

100.0

4.87

100.0

4.41

<0.001

Informal help

15.6

0.22

11.7

0.13

0.263

44.2

0.54

65.1

0.90

<0.001

38.5

0.52

73.4

1.21

<0.001

Pharmacy/OTC

20.6

0.22

18.3

0.18

0.546

55.3

0.61

63.0

0.79

0.072

27.4

0.27

40.7

0.44

0.007

Traditional healers

9.4

0.14

4.4

0.09

0.075

12.1

0.16

17.5

0.19

0.187

3.9

0.04

9.6

0.12

0.031

Gender comparison

Female

Male

P value

Female

Male

P value

Female

Male

P value

Total reported

Prominence

Total reported

Prominence

Total reported

Prominence

Total reported

Prominence

Total reported

Prominence

Total reported

Prominence

Healthcare facility

100.0

4.77

100.0

4.82

0.976

100.0

4.79

100.0

4.72

0.475

100.0

4.77

100.0

4.51

0.013

Informal help

10.5

0.12

16.8

0.23

0.078

49.5

0.62

60.0

0.83

0.026

50.8

0.69

61.0

1.03

0.014

Traditional healers

5.0

0.08

8.9

0.15

0.159

10.3

0.12

19.5

0.22

0.014

7.8

0.08

5.6

0.07

0.418

  1. Categories ordered alphabetically. ‘Total reported’ = percentage of categories reported spontaneously and upon probing. ‘Prominence’ = mean prominence of categories based on how reported (spontaneous = 2, probed = 1, most helpful = 3). ‘Overall’: figures in bold designate top three prominent categories; comparison between settings based on the Kruskal-Wallis test, *** P <0.001. ‘Site comparison’ and ‘Gender comparison’: figures in bold designate significant differences at P <0.05 based on the Wilcoxon test. Data for Southeastern Democratic Republic of Congo (SE-DRC) in ‘Overall’ section from Merten et al. [31]. Data for western Kenya in ‘Site comparison’ section from Nyambedha et al. [28]. Data for Zanzibar in ‘Site comparison’ section from Schaetti et al. [27].
  2. OTC over-the-counter drugs.