SEEKING HEALTHCARE IN PURDAH: A QUALITATIVE STUDY OF MUSLIM WOMEN IN IBADAN METROPOLIS, NIGERIA

• Published in: Gender & behaviour Vol. 18; no. 3; pp. 16085 - 16092
• Main Authors: Tunde, Fasasi Lukman, Kafayat, Aminu, Samuel, Jegede Ayodele
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Ile-Ife IFE Centre for Psychological Studies (ICPS) 01.12.2020; IFE Centre for Psychological Studies
• Subjects: African Languages; Attrition (Research Studies); Behavior; Beliefs; Cancer; Child Health; Childrens health; Clergy; Consent; Coping; Cultural values; Data Analysis; Data collection; Decision making; English; Ethics; Females; Focus groups; Group Discussion; Health behavior; Health care access; Health facilities; Health services; Health status; Help seeking behavior; Husbands; Influence; Interviews; Islam; Local government; Males; Marital Status; Maternal & child health; Maternal characteristics; Medical personnel; Medical screening; Mobility; Morbidity; Mortality; Muslims; Outcomes of Treatment; Perceptions; Physical Health; Physicians; Population; Population control; Pregnancy; Purdah; Qualitative research; Religion; Religious beliefs; Religious doctrines; Research Design; Sexually transmitted diseases; Spouses; STD; Women; Womens health; Nigeria; Africa
• ISSN: 1596-9231
• DOI: 10.10520/ejc-genbeh-v18-n3-a23

Religion is intrinsically linked to cultural values and norms that shape human behaviours. It influences people's perceptions about their health and means of seeking care to protect, sustain and improve it. Access to healthcare by Muslim women in purdah is limited by restrictions placed on their mobility. This study examined the health behaviour of women in purdah in Ibadan metropolis, Nigeria. Exploratory and qualitative techniques were adopted. Thirty (30) In-depth interviews (IDIs) for women in purdah, twenty (20) key-informant interviews (KIIs) for men, health practitioners and clerics, and four (4) Focus Group Discussions were conducted. There were restrictions in mobility of women accessing healthcare facilities, especially outside their localities, without male escorts approved by their husbands. Decisions on therapeutic choices were largely influenced by their spouses and religious doctrines. The study has implications on maternal and child health and population control programmes.