Health seeking behaviours among electronic waste workers in Ghana

BMC Public Health

Research Article

Julius N. Fobil¹  Judith Stephens¹  Richard Neitzel²  Emmanuel Asampong³  Niladri Basu⁴  Roland Srigboh⁵  Kwaku Dwuma-Badu⁶ 

[1] Department of Biological, Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana;Department of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA;Department of Social & Behavioural Sciences, School of Public Health, University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana;Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, McGill University, Montreal, Canada;La General Hospital, Accra, Ghana;Medical Unit, Ghana Post Company Limited, Accra, Ghana;

关键词: Agbogbloshie;    Ghana;    Health;    Behaviour;    E-waste;    Health insurance;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12889-015-2376-z

 received in 2015-04-08, accepted in 2015-10-02,  发布年份 2015

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundElectronic waste workers are prone to various illnesses and injuries from numerous hazards thus the need for them to seek health care. The aim of this study was to describe health-seeking behavior, and social and other factors affecting this behavior, among electronic waste workers at Agbogbloshie, Accra, Ghana.MethodsIn-depth interviews were conducted and analyzed qualitatively from a grounded theory perspective.ResultsWorkers experienced various kinds of ailments. These included physical injuries, chest and respiratory tract associated symptoms, malaria, headaches, body pains and stomach discomfort. They reported seeking health care from multiple sources, and the main determinants of health seeking behaviour were severity of illness, perceived benefit of treatment, accessibility of service, quality of service, ease of communication with service provider and cost of health care.ConclusionMultiple sources of health care were used by the e-waste workers. As cost was a major barrier to accessing formal health care, most of the workers did not subscribe to health insurance. Since enrollment in health insurance is low amongst the workers, education campaigns on the need to register with the National Health Insurance Scheme would facilitate access to formal health care and could result in improved health outcomes among e-waste workers.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© Asampong et al. 2015