Health seeking behavior following snakebites in Sri Lanka: Results of an island wide community based survey.

ABSTRACT: INTRODUCTION:Sri Lanka has a population of 21 million and about 80,000 snakebites occur annually. However, there are limited data on health seeking behavior following bites. We investigated the effects of snakebite and envenoming on health seeking behavior in Sri Lanka. METHODS:In a community-based island-wide survey conducted in Sri Lanka 44,136 households were sampled using a multistage cluster sampling method. An individual who reported experiencing a snakebite within the preceding 12 months was considered a case. An interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to obtain details of the bite and health seeking behavior among cases. RESULTS:Among 165,665 individuals surveyed, there were 695 snakebite victims. 682 (98.1%) had sought health care after the bite; 381 (54.8%) sought allopat

SUBMITTER: Ediriweera DS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5697880 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature