Health-Seeking Behaviors in Mozambique: A Mini-Study of Ethnonursing

Naoko Takeyama, Basilua Andre Muzembo, Yasmin Jahan and Michiko Moriyama
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Naoko Takeyama: Graduate School of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima 734-8553, Japan
Basilua Andre Muzembo: Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Okayama University, Okayama 700-8530, Japan
Yasmin Jahan: Graduate School of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima 734-8553, Japan
Michiko Moriyama: Graduate School of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima 734-8553, Japan

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 4, 1-12

Abstract: In settings where traditional medicine is a crucial part of the healthcare system, providing culturally competent healthcare services is vital to improving patient satisfaction and health outcomes. Therefore, this study sought to gain insight into how cultural beliefs influence health-seeking behaviors (HSBs) among Mozambicans. Participant observation and in-depth interviews (IDIs) were undertaken using the ethnonursing method to investigate beliefs and views that Mozambicans (living in Pemba City) often take into account to meet their health needs. Data were analyzed in accordance with Leininger’s ethnonursing guidelines. Twenty-seven IDIs were carried out with 12 informants from the Makonde and Makuwa tribes. The choice of health service was influenced by perceptions of health and illness through a spiritual lens, belief in supernatural forces, dissatisfaction with and dislike of the public medical system on grounds of having received poor-quality treatment, perceived poor communication skills of health professionals, and trust in the indigenous medical system. This study confirmed the need for health professionals to carefully take cultural influences into consideration when providing care for their patients. We recommend an educational intervention that emphasizes communication skills training for healthcare workers to ensure successful physician/nurse–patient relationships.

Keywords: cultural influence; health-seeking behaviors; ethnonursing; Mozambique (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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