# Prevalence and Pattern of Morbidity, Febrile Illness, and Treatment-Seeking Behavior in a Tribal-Dominated District in Odisha, India: An Observational Study

## TL;DR

This study examines the health issues and treatment-seeking behavior in a tribal area of Odisha, India, highlighting seasonal variations and gaps in healthcare access.

## Contribution

The study provides empirical evidence on morbidity patterns and healthcare challenges in tribal-dominated regions, informing targeted public health interventions.

## Key findings

- Overall morbidity prevalence was 27.28% and 28.9% during the rainy seasons of 2012 and 2013, respectively.
- Febrile illness prevalence was 13% and 11.5% during the rainy seasons, with significantly lower rates in winter.
- The study identified deficiencies in village health staff skills and community awareness about early fever reporting.

## Abstract

Background

Tribal populations constitute a major portion of India’s total population, especially in the eastern and northeastern states. We lack comprehensive information on the community burden of general morbidity and febrile illness in tribal population-dominated areas, which is quite essential for the microplanning of healthcare expenditure and implementation. This study aimed to provide evidence on the prevalence and pattern of general morbidity and febrile illness at the community level as well as the treatment-seeking behaviour in a tribal-dominated area.

Methods

The study was undertaken as an observational study in the community setting; looking into seasonal cross-sectional evidence on period prevalence (two weeks) of morbidity and qualitative/semiquantitative information on treatment-seeking behaviour of the selected community during 2012 and 2013.

Result

This study involved 5541, 5482, and 5638 individuals during the rainy season 2012, winter 2012-13, and rainy season 2013 seasons, respectively, from 25 tribal villages of Odisha, India. A period prevalence (two weeks) of overall morbidities was shown to be 27.28% and 28.9% during the rainy seasons of 2012 and 2013, respectively, of which 13% and 11.5%, respectively, were febrile, with low prevalence (6.44% overall morbidity and 1.81% febrile illness) in the winter of 2012-13. It indicated inadequacy in skills of the village-level health staff, monitoring of supplies/logistics, and population awareness for early reporting of fever to healthcare providers at the community level.

Conclusion

The evidence provided by the study would be helpful in making public health plans in tribal settings and also highlighted the opportunity to improve tribal health status through community awareness, especially in areas and populations with limited health access.