Abstract
BackgroundHealthcare outpatient visits have increased in recent years, and young adults are often given as an explanatory factor for many avoidable visits.ObjectiveThe objective of this study was to explore how young adults perceive seeking first-line healthcare.Design and settingThe study utilized a grounded theory design with data collection at primary healthcare centres and emergency departments in southeast Sweden.MethodData were collected during individual interviews and patient observations with subsequent interviews during the years 2017–2018. The analysis was performed using grounded theory.ResultsThe main concern when young adults are seeking healthcare is that their worries are taken seriously. It is a four-part process: becoming aware of, verifying, communicating, and receiving an opinion about one’s symptoms. The process includes external factors, clarity of symptoms, behavioural approaches, healthcare know-how, enabling self-management, and prior healthcare experience(s). When communicating symptoms, the clearer the symptoms, the less there needs to be communicated. When symptoms are unclear, the importance of different behavioural approaches and healthcare know-how increases. When receiving a medical opinion about symptoms, young adults want to learn how to self-manage their symptoms. Depending on previous healthcare experience, the healthcare visit can either harm or help the patient in their healthcare-seeking process.ConclusionThis study reflects several insights in the healthcare-seeking process from a young adult perspective. Based on the results, we suggest that healthcare providers focus on the final step in the healthcare-seeking process when giving their medical opinion about symptoms. Having extra minutes to give support for future self-care regardless of diagnosis could increase positive healthcare experiences and increase future self-care among young adults.
Highlights
The main concern when young adults are seeking healthcare is that their worries are taken seriously
We suggest that healthcare providers focus on the final step in the healthcare-seeking process when giving their medical opinion about symptoms
Healthcare outpatient visits have increased in recent years, and long wait times for care have become an issue in many countries [1, 2]
Summary
Healthcare outpatient visits have increased in recent years, and long wait times for care have become an issue in many countries [1, 2]. Several studies have found that healthcare personnel consider a substantial proportion of healthcare visits to fall within the third category, i.e., to be unnecessary [4,5,6]. There is an ongoing debate regarding the appropriateness of classifying healthcare visits according to whether they are unnecessary and what factors to consider when defining them as avoidable [7]. Healthcare outpatient visits have increased in recent years, and young adults are often given as an explanatory factor for many avoidable visits
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