Articles · Vol. 21 No. 2 (2017): African Sociological Review · Pages 36-57

4 - Rural-Urban Disparities in Health and Health Care in Africa: Cultural Competence, Lay-beliefs in Narratives of Diabetes among the Rural Poor in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa

Vol. 21 · 2017 No. 2 African Sociological Review ASR

Abstract

Rural-urban disparities in health and health care in Africa have been well described; yet, they
remain relatively of less concern among many issues in health and health care in Africa. The
disparities have been documented to exist in the utilization of cardiac diagnostic and therapeutic
procedures, prescription of analgesia for pains, treatment of diabetes (e.g. gym exercise). Among
the fundamental root causes of these disparities, which, can be gathered through studies of the
health care systems (biomedical and African health systems) are variations in patients’ health
beliefs, values, preferences and behaviour. Informed by the need to address the seemingly wide
rural-urban disparities in health and health care in Africa, this paper brings to the fore rural
patients’ recognition of symptoms, threshold for seeking care and the ability to understand
disease management strategy, all of which are part of the variations in patients’ health beliefs
and values. The strategy adopted for foregrounding these disparities is through narratives of
diabetes by patients in a rural context in South Africa. The chief aim is to contribute towards
improving the quality of health care through incorporating patients’ understanding of health.
The narrative is subsumed under cultural competence and lay beliefs.

Keywords

healthcare rural-urban disparities cultural competence lay beliefs diabetes

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Author Biography

  • Olajide Oloyede

    Health and Medicine Research (HEMER) Department of Anthropology and Sociology University of the Western Cape, Cape Town, South Africa

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