In the local community and at home, mild ailments are frequently treated. Despite their simplicity, the diseases are perhaps understudied, especially outside of developed countries. The purpose of this study was to qualitatively examine the Pakistani population’s symptoms of common and mild illnesses as well as how they react to these conditions. The data collected will inform the design of larger projects investigating human responses to mild disease in the future. Twenty-four participants aged 18-55 were randomly selected and interviewed on social media to participate in in-depth interviews or focus groups. Participants reported a series of daily symptoms, which were then classified according to human physiological systems. The most common reactions to these symptoms are self-care, self-medication, home remedies, herbs, and spiritual healing. Factors influencing participants’ decision to undergo treatment included previous experiences, experiences and recommendations from friends or family, family traditions, availability of healthcare professionals around family or friends, and cultural practices. Going to the doctor for a minor ailment is not the best solution. Understanding how people experience and respond to illness can help shape health services and health policy.
Minor aches and discomforts are part of everyday life. Everyone responds differently to certain symptoms, and it can range from ignoring symptoms altogether to seeking immediate medical attention. Self-treatment, home remedies, traditional and alternative medicine are common ways to treat symptoms.
Reactions to illness-related symptoms or behaviors are perceptions, appraisals, and reactions that occur as a result of certain symptoms (as cited in Mechanics, 1962). Previous studies have examined factors that influence individuals’ decisions to seek medical care for specific diseases. These factors include cultural and family background, social networks, stress, access to healthcare, perception of symptoms, severity of symptoms, previous experiences with the disease and medical care, attitudes about the illness, as well as numerous other social and psychological factors;
Historically, not much research has been done on milder forms of the disease. In recent years, however, there has been an increasing interest in studying responses to a variety of illnesses, including mild to moderate illnesses that prompt people to seek medical attention (Hunt & Sultana, 1992; Porteous, Ryan, Bond & Hannaford, 2006; Reeve, 2000). A small part of this work is devoted to developing countries.
Healthcare systems in developing countries are more complex than healthcare systems in developed countries, and thus may be better able to respond to symptoms. For example, in Pakistan, in addition to the public and private sectors, there are also homeopaths, traditional/spiritual doctors, Greco-Arabic doctors, herbalists, and osteopaths (cited in Hakim, 1997 ). The relationship between official and informal healthcare is not well established or reported. Understanding how people perceive symptoms is important for the effectiveness of health promotion programs and health systems. Although the literature on this topic is growing in the context of developing countries (ICDDR, 2008; Leyva-Flores, Luz Kageyama, & Erviti-Eris, 2001; Ngovey, 1995; van der Geist & Harden, 1990), adolescents in Pakistan have not been studied above (Anw).
