How people respond to illness in Mexico: self-care or medical care?

OBJECTIVE: To analyse illness factors associated to the form of attention (self-care or medical care) used to resolve health problems in Mexico.
METHODS: A total of 5640 individuals who reported sickness within the 2 weeks before the application of the 1994 National Health Survey were analysed. A descriptive analysis was conducted to study demographic and socioeconomic characteristics, access to medical services, perception of seriousness of the illness, treatment received, and reasons why medical care was not sought. Factors associated with the form of attention (self-care or medical care) were identified through logistic regression.
RESULTS: Sixty-one percent of the sample was self-attended. Of those who perceived their illness as serious, 52% did not use medical services because they considered them too expensive or did not have the money to pay. In the multivariate analysis, a greater frequency of self-care was observed among males over 5 years old who lacked access to Social Security medical services, or system of private insurance, suffered a mild illness, and lived in poor, rural areas. DISCUSSION: In Mexico, self-care represents the most important response to illness. Socioeconomic conditions, regardless of the perception of seriousness of the symptoms, determine the higher frequency of self-care mainly among those people living in poverty.