Reasons for and perceptions of patients with minor ailments bypassing local primary health care facilities

Figures & data

Table 1. Demographic information

		Number	Percentage	Total
Sex	Male	92	31.4	293 (100%)
	Female	201	68.6
Pregnant	Yes	51	25.4	201 (100%)
	No	150	74.6
Age	< 4	6	2.05	293 (100%)
	5–9	21	7.17
	10–19	40	13.65
	20–29	107	36.52
	30–39	66	22.53
	40–49	21	7.17
	50–59	17	5.8
	> 60	15	5.12
Disability	Yes	16	5.46	293 (100%)
	No	277	94.54
Social grant	Yes	61	20.82	293 (100%)
	No	232	79.18
Education	None	38	12.97	293 (100%)
	Grades 1–7	69	23.55
	Grades 8–12	153	52.22
	Tertiary	33	11.26
Employment	Unemployed	164	55.97	293 (100%)
	Student/pupil	70	23.89
	Working	59	20.14
Area of Residence/distance from Letaba Hospital (km)	Nkowankowa/3 km	53	18.09	293(100%)
	Dan/5 km	37	12.63
	Lenyenye/17 km	30	10.24
	Mokgolobotho/4 km	19	6.48
	Mariveni/10 km	19	6.48
	N’wamitwa/24 km	18	6.14
	Muhlaba/9 km	16	5.46
	Khujwana/12 km	12	4.10
	Lephephane/17 km	10	3.41
	Xihoko/38 km	8	2.73
	Other areas	71	24.23

Table 2. Reasons for coming to the hospital

Reason	Frequency	Percentage
My medicine is finished	10	3.4
There is no medicine at the clinic	15	5.1
I want an X-ray/sonar	15	5.1
I want to be seen by a doctor	91	31.1
I went to the clinic, but the treatment failed	14	4.8
I want to see a dentist	71	24.2
I want a pension	11	3.8
I want to see a social worker	7	2.4
I have forms that need to be completed	11	3.8
HIV test	14	4.8
Termination of pregnancy	32	10.9
Requesting spectacles	2	0.6
Total	293	100

Table 3. Opinions about local clinics

Factor	Agree	Disagree	Unsure
Their local clinic has a visiting doctor	118 (40.27%)	53 (18.09%)	122 (41.64%),
Medicines are always available at their clinic	93 (31.74%)	121 (41.30%)	79 (26.96%)
Clinics are able to assist with basic health problems	83 (28.33%)	116 (39.59%)	94 (32.08%)
Nurses at the clinic are well trained	126 (43.00%)	58 (19.80%)	109 (37.20%)
Clinic staff members treat patients kindly	164 (55.97%)	65 (22.18%)	64 (21.84%)
Their local clinic is clean	232 (79.18%)	34 (11.60%)	27 (9.22%)
Equipment and furniture at the local clinic is sufficient	119 (40.61%)	62 (21.16%)	112 (38.23%)
The community is involved in making decisions about clinics	94 (32.08%)	66 (22.53%)	133 (45.39%)
Would recommend their local clinic to others	104 (35.49%)	99 (33.79%)	90 (30.72%)