![Sample our Area Studies journals, sign in here to start your access, latest two full volumes FREE to you for 14 days]({"type":"image" , "src" : "/sda/5922/TOC-Subject-Sample-2021-Area-Studies.jpg"})
Abstract
The study sought to explore influences on help-seeking pathways followed by patients with chronic illness and disease (CID) in a rural community of the Limpopo Province, South Africa. The sample consisted of ten people with CID (female = 6; age range 42 to 96 years; sugar diabetes = 50%, and high blood pressure = 30%). The participants responded to semi-structured interviews pertaining to the influences on their choices for help-seeking pathways. The data were analysed applying Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). Prevailing influences on help-seeking pathways with CID included presumed cause of the illness, diagnosis agent and family process, nature of preferred treatment modality, and openness to alternative and complementary medicine.
Acknowledgements
This research was supported by Vlaamse Interuniversitaire Raad (VLIR). The present study formed part of a bigger research project that was undertaken under the auspices of the University of Limpopo (UL) and Vlaamse Interuniversitaire Raad-Institutional University Cooperation (VLIR-IUC) Partnership Programme. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of VLIR.