Factors Influencing The Health Seeking Behaviour Of Buruli Ulcer Patients In Two Buruli Ulcer Endemic Districts In The Brong-Ahafo Region

ABSTRACT Background: Buruli ulcer (BU) is commonly found in waterlogged areas, and its prevalence is high among farmers, especially rice farmers, illegal miners (galamsey) and children who engage in fishing activities (Huygen et al., 2013). Public health interventions for all diseases including Buruli ulcer, seek to persuade cases to report to the health facility early, as this will potentially reduce the cost of treatment and prevent disabilities. Unfortunately, most BU affected individuals tend to seek treatment at the late stages of the disease, which leaves them incapacitated and with disability. The study seeks to determine factors influencing the health seeking behaviour of Buruli ulcer patients in Dormaa Municipality and Asutifi South District Health Directorate in the Brong Ahafo region. Method: A community- based cross-sectional study involving 222 BU patients was conducted in Asutifi south district and Dormaa municipal. Study participants were purposively recruited into the study. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data over a 6-week period from May to June 2018. Stata version 15.0 software was used for data analysis. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize data. Pearson‟s chi-square test was performed to determine the association between the health system factors, socio-cultural factors and demographic factors and the health-seeking behaviour where significantly associated variables were put into logistic regression models and analysis to determine the strength of the associations at 95% confidence interval with p-value of