DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH SEEKING BEHAVIOUR OF NOMADIC PASTORALISTS IN LOW AND MIDDLE-INCOME COUNTRIES: A SCOPING REVIEW

Abstract Access and utilization of healthcare facilities have been an important factor in determining the health and wellbeing gap in society. However, these opportunities have not been benefiting some communities, such as the pastoralist communities, due to the constant movement in search of pasture for the animals. These communities are also faced with other issues, such as language and cultural concerns, which may impact how they interact with healthcare providers. In that regard, this review was carried out to assess some of the issues that impact the health-seeking behaviours of these communities in order to understand the underutilization of healthcare facilities. In meeting the research, the study adopted a scoping review in which the researcher relied on 25 sources to provide evidence on the issues. These articles were sourced from Google Scholar, Scopus PubMed, and ScienceDirect. The study indicated that health-seeking behaviours have been impacted by negative perceptions, misinformation, misconceptions regarding the mainstream care system and increased institutional barriers. Cultural attitudes and low knowledge and education level helps in sustaining the negative perception that later shaped the health-seeking behaviours. Misinformation also created misconception around various diseases and symptoms, thereby limiting the urgency of seeking care from qualified medical practitioners. Distance was a significant factor because it made the accessibility of healthcare facility impossible. The study further recommends the improvement of knowledge through awareness to minimize misconceptions about health or diseases. Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest. Funding Statement This study did not receive any funding Author Declarations I confirm all relevant ethical guidelines have been followed, and any necessary IRB and/or ethics committee approvals have been obtained. Yes I confirm that all necessary patient/participant consent has been obtained and the appropriate institutional forms have been archived, and that any patient/participant/sample identifiers included were not known to anyone (e.g., hospital staff, patients or participants themselves) outside the research group so cannot be used to identify individuals. Yes I understand that all clinical trials and any other prospective interventional studies must be registered with an ICMJE-approved registry, such as ClinicalTrials.gov. I confirm that any such study reported in the manuscript has been registered and the trial registration ID is provided (note: if posting a prospective study registered retrospectively, please provide a statement in the trial ID field explaining why the study was not registered in advance). Yes I have followed all appropriate research reporting guidelines, such as any relevant EQUATOR Network research reporting checklist(s) and other pertinent material, if applicable. Yes Data Availability All data produced in the present work are contained in the manuscript