Use of health care services in two rural communities in Tanzania.

ABSTRACT

PIP: In September 1988 a dentist interviewed 91 men and 109 women aged 20 years and older living in 2 villages in Ilala, Tanzania, to study their pattern of utilization of dental and medical care services. Most adults had used modern dental and medical care services. Most adults had used modern dental and medical care services (96% and 98%, respectively). 84% of adults who used modern dental care services used a dentist, 23% a medical practitioner, and 1% a pharmacy. The only traditional method of treating dental problems was home remedy, which was used by men more often than women (30% vs. 18%; p .05). Use of analgesics likely was included among the home remedies. Adults probably did not use traditional healers for dental problems because they cannot alleviate the acute episodic dental pain. Dentists at hospitals using local anesthesia tend to do tooth extraction, the most common dental treatment in Tanzania. Adults were more likely to use both modern and traditional medical care services for medical problems than dental problems (p .05). They tended to use a traditional healer more often for medical problems than home remedies (61% vs. 34%; p .05). The farther people lived from the nearest modern medical health care unit, the greater the likelihood that they used traditional medical care services (92% for those living = or 5 km away vs. 61% for 5 km; p .05). Older adults were more likely to use both traditional dental and medical services (odds ratio [OR] = 3.85 and 2.65, respectively). Men tended to use traditional dental services more often than did women (OR = 3.93). These findings show that village-level modern dental health care has not been accorded a high priority. Existing medical staff at village-level health dispensaries should take on the responsibility for dental health.