The level of self perceived morbidity among adults and its implications for households and communities in Dar es salaam, Tanzania

A cross-sectional, community based health survey was conducted in an urban population of Dar es Salaam between April and May, 1995. The aim of this study was to determine the level of self-perceived morbidity (acute or chronic ill-health conditions and disabilities) among the general population. A total of 4126 adults aged fifteen years and more were interviewed using a questionnaire that had been developed for this purpose. Detailed household level information was collected on demography, morbidity and hospital utilization patterns. Results showed that the total overall prevalence of self perceived acute, chronic ill-health conditions and disabilities were 33.5% (1384/4126), 38.5% (1588/4126) and 26.8% (1107/4126) respectively. Approximately (60.2%) of the household members who had developed ill-health during the two weeks before the interview sought health care from modern medical services. However, of those interviewed 1.3 % consulted traditional healers, 24.7% performed self-treatment, 0.6% consulted primary health care workers and 13.2% did not consult any health care services. Multiple logistic regression analysis showed that age, sex, level of education, marital status and household size were significantly associated with self-perceived morbidity. It was therefore concluded that self-perceived morbidity prevailing among adults in Dar es Salaam during the time of this study was significantly high. It is recommended that the findings of this study should be used to design a follow-up study to determine true diagnoses of those who perceived themselves as having ill-health conditions/diseases for validation. This study determined the level of self perceived morbidity in an urban area of Dar es Salaam. In order to obtain a more meaningful and comparable data on self-perceived ill-health it is recommended that a similar study be carried out in the other urban and rural areas of this country is also recommended that during allocation of resources Policy Makers or Health Planners should take into consideration the fact that self-perceived morbidity is very high among adults in the general population and should cater for their health needs accordingly .