Heath care Seeking Behavior among Migrants Vulnerable to Climate Change: Study of a Slum in Dhaka City
Md. Aminul Haque,PhD; Sawkia Afroz
Department of Population Sciences, University of Dhaka
Abstract
Background: Bangladesh has been declared as the sixth worst affected country to climate change. This paper aims to identify life after migration of the respondents receding in a slum of Dhaka city, to identify the perception of migrants regarding climate change, to identify the perception of migrants regarding health and disease, to find out the health care seeking behavior of the migrants vulnerable to climate change. Methods: The study was a cross-sectional survey of climate vulnerable migrants who are receding a slum of Dhaka city. A total of 250 climate vulnerable migrants consist of 150 male and 150 female respondents were selected randomly and interviewed through a structured questionnaire. Univariate and Bivariate types of analysis have been applied. Results: The study indicates that after being victim of climate change respondents migrated to Dhaka city for a better livelihood but their socio economic condition collapsed in Dhaka city. Only 25.6% having permanent residence in current place, 90% lost their business and turned into rickshaw puller.Sin disease, Asthma and Respiratory Allergy were the three disease they suffered most, Climate induced diseases and after migration disease continuation rate is higher among male migrants compared to female. 50.3% female respondents perceived the idea of weather change. Though female perceived a better understanding about the changing weather pattern but their health care seeking behavior after migration deteriorated almost 53.3% don-t seek any health care, their attitudes as well as existing barriers of the new settlement basically keep them aloof from seeking the health care services. Conclusion: Increasing recurrence of climatic events, socio-economic losses, severity of environmental degradation and frequency of climate induced diseases push people in such a vulnerable situation that compel them to choose migration as an adaptive mechanism of climate change. Most of people these climate vulnerable migrants find their accommodation in the slums of Dhaka city that left them in a miserable condition where the terror goes but the agony persists. Thus the study highlighted that overall health care seeking behavior of the climate vulnerable migrants deteriorated after migration which requires proper attention in order to alleviate their sufferings in the slum area.
Keywords: Bangladesh, Climate Vulnerability, Climate Change, Perception, Health care seeking behavior
Topic: Environmental and Occupational Health