The Health Seaking Behaviour of People Living with Chronic non Communicable Diseases in Poor Urban Communities in Accra, Ghana

The health care systems in developing countries are struggling with high incidences of infectious diseases and frequent out breaks of communicable diseases. There is limited resource needed to effectively manage these conditions, the recent upsurge in cardiovascular diseases puts more pressure on the weak and poorly resourced health system. This study explores illness action of people living with diabetes and hypertension, the structure and functions of pluralistic systems among Ghana’s urban poor focusing on the recent changes in the traditional healthcare systems. As part of an urban poor survey in Accra, a mixed method of quantitative, qualitative and spatial data are used. Evidence from pilot data suggests that people living with chronic conditions healer shop. Therefore health policies should improve the contributions of ethno-medicines and faith healing systems to enhance the quality of health care delivery.