Community Dent Oral Epidemiol. 1993 Jun; 21(3): 133-5.

Use of health care services in two rural communities in Tanzania.

Sarita PT, Tuominen R.

Department of Restorative Dentistry, Faculty of Medicine, University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

This study was undertaken to investigate the pattern of utilization of medical and dental health care services in rural Tanzania. Two hundred adults, 91 men and 109 women aged 20 or over, were interviewed. Nearly all subjects reported using modern dental and medical health care services. Home remedy was the only indigenous method of treatment used for dental problems while for medical problems a traditional healer was the most commonly used indigenous alternative. The use of both indigenous and modern health care services was significantly lower for dental than for medical problems (P < 0.05). It seems that the pattern of utilization of health care services differs for medical and dental problems. This should be taken into account when planning comprehensive health care services for rural African societies.