Health Status and Health Seeking Behaviour of Street Children in Peshawar

Abstract

Background: The street children are exposed to many hazards and are prone to ill-health due to unhygienic and harsh living
conditions; they suffer from a wide range of diseases, ranging from common illnesses to growth and nutritional disorders and even
life threatening conditions.
Objective: This study was conducted to assess the common health problems and health status of street children and to
determine the health seeking behaviour of street children in Peshawar.
Materials and methods: This was a cross sectional study conducted on 385 street children in Peshawar. Study duration was
six months. Non probability, snowball sampling technique was used. Semi structured questionnaire was used as data
collection tool.
Results: Respiratory tract illnesses were the most common illness followed by fever and body-aches. 67% of street children
were aware of tertiary hospitals. 92.2% of the street children preferred going to Local Health Care worker (LHCW) for their
health issues. 30% of the street children had never visited a tertiary hospital. 21 % complained that the cost of health care was
high. 13.3% of the street children reported that the health care centres were overcrowded, 12% complained about long waiting
period. 7% of the street children complained about the bad attitude of health care workers.
Conclusion: The street children suffered from a wide range of ailments. Majority of street children were aware of tertiary
hospitals, yet an overwhelming majority of the street children preferred going to Local Health Care worker (LHCW) for their
health issues.
Key words: Street children, Health status, Health seeking behaviour