Factors Influencing Choice of Medical Treatment Options among Rural People in Selected Communities in Imo State, Nigeria

Aim: Choice of medical treatment option, in the event of illness, is a critical factor in determining the fate of a patient. It is influenced by several factors. The aim of this paper, therefore, is: To determine the exact factors that influence the choice, by rural dwellers, of medical treatment options in the event of illness.
Study Design: Sixty-four (64) randomly selected rural communities in Imo State, Nigeria, were used in the study. A total of five hundred and forty (540) questionnaires were distributed, out of which five hundred were returned.
Setting of the Study: Sixty - four communities in Imo State of Nigeria.
Methodology: Considering the fact that the data used were frequency data, with the categories of the dependent variable (choice of medical treatment options) more than two (2) Which did not have a natural ordering, the multinomial logistic regression model was adopted in the analysis.
Results: The result of the analysis showed that educational qualification and affinity for tradition were the major factors that affected choice of medical treatment options. Other factors were income and gender. The study also revealed that of the three treatment options implicated in the study, modern treatment was the most preferred in all forms of illness; except in fracture, where native treatment was most preferred. The treatment options were chosen mostly on basis of their perceived relative efficacy.
Conclusion: The three treatment options need to be given adequate consideration in our medical system, since each has its area of relative strength or efficacy. In particular, collaboration by the various categories of health practitioners should be encouraged to enhance the efficacy of the nation’s health care system.