Table 4.
Factors associated with health seeking behaviour for adults in Malawi for whom at least one symptom was reported in 2016
| Characteristics (n = 1907) | Crude | Adjusted | ||
| OR (95% CI) | P-valuea | OR (95% CI) | P-valuea | |
| Region | ||||
| Northern | 1.00 | 1.00 | ||
| Central | 0.56 (0.38–0.82) | 0.003 | 0.60 (0.40–0.89) | 0.012 |
| Southern | 0.68 (0.45–1.00) | 0.05 | 0.68 (0.45–1.01) | 0.058 |
| Residence | ||||
| Rural | 1.00 | 1.00 | ||
| Urban | 2.07 (1.58–2.73) | <0.001 | 1.65 (1.19–2.30) | 0.003 |
| Sex | ||||
| Male | 1.00 | 1.00 | ||
| Female | 1.16 (0.94–1.44) | 0.17 | 1.28 (1.03–1.59) | 0.029 |
| Age group (years) | ||||
| 15–34 | 1.00 | 1.00 | ||
| 35–59 | 0.91 (0.71–1.15) | 0.43 | 0.93 (0.72–1.18) | 0.55 |
| 60+ | 0.95 (0.69–1.31) | 0.75 | 0.93 (0.66–1.31) | 0.69 |
| Marital status | ||||
| Married | 1.00 | |||
| Divorced/widowed | 0.99 (0.73–1.35) | 0.96 | ||
| Never married | 1.03 (0.81–1.33) | 0.80 | ||
| Wealth index | ||||
| Low | 1.00 | 1.00 | ||
| Middle | 1.22 (0.91–1.63) | 0.19 | 1.20 (0.89–1.62) | 0.24 |
| High | 1.91 (1.48–2.48) | <0.001 | 1.58 (1.16–2.16) | 0.004 |
| Relationship to household head |
||||
| Household head |
1.00 | |||
| Spouse | 1.15 (0.89–1.48) | 0.27 | ||
| Child/niece/nephew | 1.08 (0.83–1.41) | 0.56 | ||
| Brother/sister/cousin | 0.74 (0.37–1.47) | 0.37 | ||
| Parent | 1.04 (0.47–2.27) | 0.92 | ||
| Other relatives |
1.81 (0.60–5.43) | 0.29 | ||
| Education level | ||||
| None | 1.00 | |||
| Primary | 1.30 (0.76–2.22) | 0.34 | ||
| Secondary | 2.47 (1.45–4.22) | 0.001 | ||
| Tertiary | 2.00 (0.60–6.64) | 0.26 | ||
| Presence vs. absence of illness |
||||
| Fever | 2.30 (1.83–2.90) | <0.001 | 1.52 (1.03–2.25) | 0.034 |
| Vomiting | 0.61 (0.31–1.21) | 0.16 | 0.55 (0.26–1.16) | 0.12 |
| Stomach ache |
0.65 (0.44–0.95) | 0.025 | 0.56 (0.34–0.93) | 0.025 |
| Sore throat | 0.71 (0.41–1.22) | 0.21 | 0.67 (0.36–1.23) | 0.19 |
| Respiratory infections | 0.60 (0.44–0.81) | 0.001 | 0.55 (0.36–0.84) | 0.008 |
| Headache | 0.32 (0.23–0.45) | <0.001 | 0.32 (0.21–0.51) | <0.001 |
| Skin diseases |
0.89 (0.37–2.19) | 0.81 | 0.88 (0.35–2.22) | 0.79 |
| Backache | 0.64 (0.34–1.20) | 0.16 | 0.64 (0.32–1.30) | 0.22 |
| Dental problem |
1.14 (0.55–2.34) | 0.73 | 1.07 (0.48–2.37) | 0.86 |
| Injury | 0.85 (0.51–1.44) | 0.55 | 0.80 (0.43–1.48) | 0.47 |
| Eye problem |
4.60 (1.24–17.01) | 0.02 | 3.94 (1.05–14.86) | 0.043 |
| Other symptomsb |
1.81 (1.14–2.88) | 0.012 | 1.54 (0.88–2.72) | 0.13 |
| Had chronic conditions |
||||
| No | 1.00 | |||
| Yes | 1.35 (1.00–1.81) | 0.05 | ||
a
P-values from multi-level logistic regression.
b
Fainting, pain when passing urine, mental disorder, tuberculosis, sexually transmitted infections, unspecified long-term illnesses and other illnesses.
The constant term of the regression model is 1.08 (95% CI: 0.61–1.89, P = 0.79).
CI, confidence interval; OR, odds ratio.