Health Seeking Behavior Of Patients Research Articles

A community-based study on health seeking behaviour among NCD patients in rural and urban Tamil Nadu – A convergent mixed method study

ABSTRACT This study focusses on the health seeking behaviour of NCD patients which entails regularity of health care facility visitations and adherence to lifestyle modifications. Aims: To analyse the hospital visitations and lifestyle modifications of NCD patients. To do a comparative study about the health seeking behaviour among NCD patients in Rural and Urban areas. To explore the various difficulties that patients face with regards to Lifestyle modifications. Settings and Design: It is a convergent type mixed-methods design, undertaken in the field practicing areas of RHTCs and UPHCs of Government Medical College, Omandurar Government Estate. Methods and Material: The data was collected by means of Free listing, Focussed Group Discussions, Key Informant Interviews and Structured Questionnaires from patients diagnosed with one or more non-communicable diseases. Statistical analysis used: Smith’s S value Manual Content Analysis Bivariate analysis. Results: The health seeking behaviour of NCD patients is influenced by lesser crowding and shorter distance to travel, reduced waiting time, focused attention from and familiarity with the healthcare provider, community health, systematic dispensing of medications and regularised testing. Rural population have a higher positively inclined health seeking behaviour than urban population. Conclusions: The health seeking behaviour of patients with NCDs seem to be on the positive trend and is influenced by the locality of the respondents.

Effect of COVID-19 on paediatric TB service delivery and patients’ comfort receiving TB services in Cameroon and Kenya during COVID: a qualitative assessment

BackgroundThe outbreak of COVID-19 has caused a setback to the gains achieved in tuberculosis (TB) control by impairing TB diagnosis, delaying treatment initiation and aggravating TB deaths. This study explored...

Gambaran Pengetahuan dan Health Seeking Behaviour pada Penderita Diabetes Melitus Tipe 2

Diabetes mellitus is a non-communicable disease that currently represents a public health problem. Diabetes mellitus diseases caused by the inability of the pancreas to produce enough insulin (a hormone that manages glucose or sugar in the blood) or the inability of the body to manage the insulin produced effectively. The incidence of diabetes mellitus is increasingly concerning because the number has increased by year to year. Patients with DM and their families are expected to further increase knowledge of management and control of diabetes mellitus and improve health seeking behavior. This study aims to determine and identify the knowledge and health seeking behavior of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. This study uses quantitative methods with a cross-sectional approach. The sampling technique used purposive sampling, the sample size was 54 people. The analysis test used univariate analysis. This research instrument is a knowledge level questionnaire and a health seeking behavior questionnaire. The results of the study, the knowledge of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus in the good category amounted to 55,6% and health seeking behavior in the good category amounted to 61,1%. The conclusion of this study is that patients at the Banjarmasin Terminal Health Center have good knowledge and health seeking behavior. The community, especially type 2 diabetes patients, is expected to continue to increase knowledge and awareness of health problems and encourage healthy behavior

The impact of COVID-19 on non-communicable disease patients in sub-Saharan African countries: A systematic review.

COVID-19 and its prevention measures have had a significant impact on patients with non-communicable diseases (NCDs) by disrupting routine healthcare service and increasing risk factors. These challenges were expected to be more severe in sub-Saharan Africa due to the lack of physical infrastructure and inadequate resources. The quantity of studies conducted was limited, and there was a lack of published systematic reviews in the specified region. This systematic review aimed to assess the indirect impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and associated lockdown measures on individuals with non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in sub-Saharan African countries. This systematic review adheres to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) 2020 guidelines and is registered with PROSPERO (ID CRD42023387755). Extensive searches were conducted in MEDLINE, EMBASE, and CINAHL databases in December 2023, supplemented by a manual search of references, grey literature, and the WHO COVID-19 database. Inclusion criteria encompassed studies that reported on the impact of COVID-19 on NCD patients in sub-Saharan African countries, focusing on access to care, health outcomes, and factors related to NCDs. Critical appraisal of study quality was performed using the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) analytical cross-sectional studies critical appraisal tool. Data were extracted and synthesized, highlighting the main findings and relevant limitations. This review included 30 primary studies with a cumulative sample size of 25634 participants, conducted in seven sub-Saharan African countries. These studies demonstrated that the COVID-19 pandemic significantly disrupted regular NCD patient care provision, with regional variations. The studies also identified a reduction in patient health-seeking behavior and reduced medication adherence, leading to poor treatment outcome. Furthermore, the pandemic and related lockdowns have been implicated in the increased prevalence of substance use, decreased physical exercise, and increased mental health problems. This systematic review identified the complex challenges faced by NCD patients in sub-Saharan Africa during the COVID-19 pandemic. It also underlines the need to consider the indirect impact on vulnerable populations while developing pandemic prevention and control strategies for the future. The current NCD management strategies should prioritize the restoration of access to essential healthcare services while considering the multifaceted risks posed by decreased physical activity, poor dietary practices, and increased substance use. The main limitation of this review was the study design and setting. All of the studies included in this review employed a cross-sectional design, which may result in a low quality of evidence. This study identified research conducted in only seven countries among the 46 UN-classified sub-Saharan nations, which may impair the generalizability of the result.

Unveiling the unseen toll: exploring the impact of the Lebanese economic crisis on the health-seeking behaviors in a sample of patients with diabetes and hypertension.

Against the backdrop of Lebanon's escalating multifaceted crisis which resulted in medication shortages for chronic diseases and unaffordable healthcare services, the current study endeavors to shed light on a critical yet overlooked facet of the Lebanese economic crisis- its profound impact on the health-seeking behaviors of patients with hypertension and diabetes mellitus. An exploratory cross-sectional study based on an online questionnaire was conducted on 156 adult Lebanese citizens diagnosed medically with either hypertension or diabetes. We gathered sociodemographic characteristics and healthcare-related challenges faced during the economic crisis. We also assessed stress levels using the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS-21). Descriptive and bivariate analyses were done using SPSS version 26. The mean age of the population was 49.8 ± 17.7 years old, 51.6% were females and 48.4% were males, 29.7% had diabetes, 51.3% had hypertension and 19.0% had both diseases. Among all, 84.2% reported dissatisfaction with the current healthcare system, 31.6% reported changing their physician mainly because of unaffordable consultation fees (66%) or immigration of the physician (32%). Of those with hypertension and/or diabetes, less than 20% reported finding all their prescribed medications and 47% either modified or discontinued their treatment without seeking medical advice. In case of drug shortage, patients relied on stocked reserves (26%), alternative/generic medications (10%) and external sources for medication procurement such as relatives living abroad (41.7%), outsourcing suppliers (19.9%), dispensaries (19.6%) and NGOs (20.3%). All participants reported a high stress level (5.03/7) with a mean total DASS-21 score of 38.7 ± 35.8 that were attributed to August 4th Beirut port explosion (81.0%), global pandemic (81%), unstable political conditions (90.5%), economic crisis (96.8%), medication shortage (91.8%) and inability to access healthcare (74.1%). Higher sub-scores for anxiety, depression and total stress were insignificantly noted in participants with both hypertension and diabetes (p > 0.05). Our findings explore how the economic crisis has taken its toll on almost all aspects of healthcare in a sample of patients with diabetes and hypertension in Lebanon. The drug shortage as well as disruptions in affordable healthcare access imposed several barriers to adequate adherence to treatment regimens and acted as important mental health stressors.

New Normal: The Impact of HMO in the Health-Seeking Behavior of Patients of Multi-Specialty Clinics

Routine medical consultations provide individuals to determine any signs of a certain disease they may not even know it exists. During consults, medical professionals can diagnose severe or life-threatening conditions and prevent risks before they become worse. Support in health financial could be considered as one of the factors that a patient would practice medical checkups routinely. This study gauged the demographics of the patients who visited Multi-specialty Clinics and the benefits of Health Maintenance Organizations to support the health needs of this clientele. They measured the number of visits made by an HMO member pre-pandemic and at the height pandemic. Age, sex, and civil status were also included as identifiers to determine the number of patients per category. According to the findings of this study, HMO is evidently a powerful driver in the promotion and improvement of health-seeking behavior of the community and best achieved and enhanced in the group of HMO card users availing medical services at a Multi-Specialty Center in the North region, particularly during pandemic disasters.

Prevalence of complications and health seeking behaviour of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus: a community based study

Background: Diabetes mellitus is a chronic disease with a variety of micro-and macro-vascular complications. Health seeking behaviour is directly related to occurrence of diabetes complications by identifying them early and to plan diabetes care and management upon diagnosis. So, this study was planned to know the prevalence of complications in Type 2 diabetes mellitus patients and their level of treatment seeking behaviour. Methods: A total of 75 type 2 DM patients from rural area were studied. Patients were selected by taking 8 villages as strata and minimum of 9 patients were selected from each village. Patients were interviewed face-to-face for knowing details related to diabetes, and its complications and about health seeking behaviour. Results: Around 21.3% patients had complications related to diabetes mellitus, in which peripheral neuropathy was most common. As many as 45% patients seeking care from govt. facility and 60% patients seeking care from Pvt. facility had poor health seeking behaviour. Significantly higher number of patients seeking health care from Pvt. facility (77.8%) having poor health seeking behaviour had complications than patients seeking health care from govt. facility (33.3%). Odds of having complications was 7 times higher for patients seeking health care from Pvt. facility than for patients approaching govt. facility. Conclusions: Good health seeking behaviour is needed to improve the quality of life of patients suffering with type 2 DM.

Knowledge of Antimicrobial Drugs among Outpatients in a Specialist Hospital in Abuja, Federal Capital Territory, Nigeria.

Background: Globally antimicrobials are a key tool in our fight against infectious diseases. Antimicrobial knowledge entails being familiar with the many classes of antimicrobials available and the infections they can treat. Assessing the knowledge of Antimicrobial is necessary among patients  to avoid its misuse and development of antimicrobial resistance. It will aid in decision making and improving health seeking behaviour of patients.  This study seeks to assess the knowledge of antimicrobial drugs among patients in a specialist hospital in Abuja Muncipal Area council, FCT, Abuja. Methods: This was descriptive, cross-sectional study done in September, 2022  among clients attending outpatient clinic at a District Hospital Abuja's. it involved a sample size of  sample size 423 with 400 responding .  A multistage sampling technique was adopted for this study. The data was analyzed using the IBM SPSS 28 (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences) computer software (IBM SPSS Inc. 2021). The data was summarized using descriptive statistics which include the percentages, frequencies. Test of association was done using , the chi-square test (χ 2), and  p-value less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Ethical approval was granted by Bingham University Teaching Hospital, Jos, Plateau State Results: One hundred and fifty respondents (37.5%) had good knowledge of antimicrobials, 141 (35.25%) had fair knowledge of antimicrobials, and 109 (27.25%) had poor knowledge (gave unsatisfactory answers to questions regarding knowledge about antimicrobials). Between male and female respondents. 22% of female respondents had good knowledge, 18.25% had fair knowledge  and 16.75% had poor knowledge. Of all the male respondents, 15.5% had good knowledge, 17% had fair knowledge and 10.5% had poor knowledge. There was a statistically significant association between knowledge of antimicrobials with Marital Status (χ² (2, N=400) = 54.92, p < 0.001)where more singles had poor knowledge of antimicrobial than married people, Education (χ² (2, N=400) = 87.16, p < 0.001), where more of those with tertiary education had good knowledge of antimicrobials than those with no education or only primary education.  and Age (χ² (2, N=400) = 56.84, p < 0.001) as more younger people (18 - 29 years ) had good knowledge of antimicrobials than older people (40- 59 years).Conclusion: Over a third of clients had good knowledge of antimicrobials, a third also had fair knowledge while about a  quarter had poor knowledge. The government and health care workers should support efforts towards improving the knowledge of communities on the basics of antimicrobials, in order to guide its use and improve antimicrobial stewardship.

The Health Literacy and Health-seeking Behavior of Patients with a Chronic Disease Requiring Hospitalization

The Health Literacy and Health-seeking Behavior of Patients with a Chronic Disease Requiring Hospitalization

Patient Health Seeking Behavior and Choice of Place of Care among Tuberculosis Clients in Selected States in Nigeria

Patient Health Seeking Behavior and Choice of Place of Care among Tuberculosis Clients in Selected States in Nigeria

Health-Seeking Behavior of Diabetic and Hypertensive Patients in Rural Communities of Ghana

Background: This study examined the health-seeking behaviors of patients with diabetes and hypertension in rural communities in Ghana. In Ghana, most studies on diabetes and hypertension are clinically oriented. However, medical-sociological truism suggests that attitudes towards health and illnesses, such as hypertension and diabetes, have a social-cultural perspective.
 Method: This study adopted a qualitative approach where twenty (20) participants who were either diabetic, hypertensive, or both were interviewed.
 Results: One of the study's significant findings was that diabetics/hypertensives use only orthodox hospitals to treat their conditions. Another finding was that the problems and challenges diabetics and hypertensives face include financial difficulties, social isolation, and stigmatization.
 Conclusion: Recommendations were made based on these findings. For instance, the registered traditional medicine practitioners should collaborate with the Ghana Health Service to intensify education on the importance of using certified traditional medicines in the treatment and management of diabetes and hypertension and provide customer-age-factor services at the various health facilities for persons with chronic diseases such as diabetics and hypertension.

Impact of COVID-19 on Health Seeking Behavior of Patients with Chronic Disease at Public Hospitals in Jimma Zone, South West Ethiopia.

BackgroundCOVID-19 is a global pandemic with unprecedented medical, economic and social consequences affecting nations across the world. This epidemic arises while chronic diseases are continued to be a public health concern. Though evidence is generated on its impact on the health care system, little is known about the Impact of COVID −19 on the care-seeking behavior of chronic patients.ObjectiveTo assess the Impact of COVID-19 on healthcare-seeking behavior of patients with chronic diseases attending follow-up at public hospitals in Jimma zone, South West Ethiopia.MethodsFacility-based cross-sectional study design was employed. The sample was calculated using the single population proportion formula. Hospitals were selected by using simple random sampling. Then, the final calculated sample size for the study was proportionally allocated to each selected hospital. Data were collected from 400 participants through face-to-face interviews and card reviews. Data were entered into Epi-Data version 3.1 and then exported to SPSS version 23 for analysis. Binary and multivariable logistic regression analyses with 95% CI for odds ratio (OR) were used to identify significant factors.ResultsOf the total respondents 156 (39.0%) of them had poor health-seeking behavior. Contact history with COVID −19 patient (AOR = 2.8; 95% CI = 1.1–7.0), perceived moderate depression (AOR = 2.3; 95% CI = 1.2–4.2), perceived extreme depression (AOR = 4.3; 95% CI = 1.8–10.5), shortage of medication (AOR = 2.4; 95% CI = 1.0–6.2) increases the odds of poor health-seeking behavior. In addition, the odds of poor health-seeking in patients with no formal education were higher compared to patients with higher educational status (AOR = 2.7; 95% CI = 1.0–9.0).ConclusionCOVID −19 outbreaks affected the health-seeking behavior of patients with chronic diseases. The impact was found to be more significant among patients who had a contact history with COVID −19 patients. Moreover, perceived depression, shortage of medication, and low educational status were significant predictors of poor health-seeking behavior. Therefore, working on the barriers to the health-seeking behavior of chronic patients may reduce the effect of COVID-19.

Oral health seeking behaviour among patients attending outpatient clinic in University of Ilorin teaching hospital (UITH) Ilorin

Introduction: In sub – Saharan Africa, oral health services are greatly hampered by low availability and poor accessibility to health care and these are various interrelated factors responsible. This study determined the factors that influence oral health seeking behavior among patients attending outpatients' clinic.Methodology: A total of 460patients were selected into the study from the outpatients' clinic using systematic random sampling. Data was collected and was analyzed using SPSS 17. The significant level was set at 0.05Results: Of the 97.3% of the respondents with awareness of oral health facility, 90.9% of them had oral health facility within 5km distance. The commonest complaint was toothache. Majority of the respondents (88.2%) accessed orthodox oral health services mostly for teeth extraction (61.3%). There was statistically significant difference between the awareness of Oral health facility and closeness to residence.Conclusion:Age, awareness and attitude have positive effect on health seeking behavior of patients.

Strengthening tobacco control policies during the COVID-19 pandemic in India

Problem consideredThe aim of this paper was to support policy makers to make informed decisions regarding public health response in general, and tobacco control interventions particularly, in the context of COVID-19. MethodsAn online cross-sectional survey using a semi-structured questionnaire was conducted in the year 2020 with stakeholders in tobacco control and public health experts from private and government organizations. Information pertaining to background characteristics of study participants and impact of pandemic on tobacco use and means to leverage tobacco control policy was collected. Data was analysed using Microsoft excel 2010 and results are presented as frequencies and percentages along with key responses from open ended questions. ResultsA total of 72 stakeholders were approached out of which, 46 (56.1%) responded and were included. About 32 (74.4%) of the participants thought that public health authorities had given advice on stopping tobacco use during COVID-19 pandemic. About 19 (43.2%) participants did not notice any change in level of interest in tobacco cessation during the pandemic while a majority 34(73.8%) agreed that COVID-19 pandemic had an impact on health seeking behaviour of patients with non-communicable diseases. Nearly half of participants, 21(48.8%) opined that tobacco industry was engaged in corporate social responsibilities during COVID-19. ConclusionThe stakeholders expressed that there is a good opportunity to further strengthen tobacco control activities during COVID-19 pandemic and also emphasized need to closely monitor tobacco industry interference during this time.

Change in Disease Dynamics and Health Care Utilisation in Children during COVID 19 in a Tertiary Care Hospital of Eastern India

This retrospective, observational study was conducted by collecting data from medical records during COVID 19 pandemic from March 2020 till August 2020. This was compared with the data of 2019 during similar months. The impact of COVID 19 on use of preventive and curative paediatric health care service units like outpatient department, casualty, intensive care and immunization clinic were assessed. Data from 2019 to 2020 were compared using standard parametric and nonparametric tests. There was a significant decline in routine OPD (68%) attendance during the COVID 19 period as compared to pre-COVID period. Paediatric ward admissions and PICU admissions were decreased by 55% and 42% respectively. We also observed a significant 43% decline in the number of children attending immunization clinic in the year 2020. The fear of COVID 19 pandemic and the measures taken to control the pandemic has affected the health seeking behaviour of patients. This evaluation of trends in healthcare use may help in planning the delivery of healthcare service delivery in future.

Evaluation of health seeking behaviour of patients with severe periodontitis visiting private dental college and hospital

Severe periodontal disease, which may result in tooth loss, was estimated to be the 11th most prevalent disease globally. Despite such high prevalence awareness regarding it is still very little. Understanding of health seeking behaviour is essential to provide need based health care services to the population and managing periodontal diseases. Hence the present research was carried out to identify the determinants of health seeking behaviour in patients visiting private dental college and hospital with severe periodontitis. A cross sectional study was conducted among the patients visiting private dental colleges and hospitals with severe periodontitis between the age group of 18 and above. Data was recorded by a self- administered, structured, pre-tested questionnaire based on items to determine health seeking behaviour of participants in this study. Study included 512 participants, 279 (54.5%) males and 233 (45.5%) females. It was observed that mobile tooth was the most common dental problem reported by 288 (56.3%) participants. Fear was the major reason for not visiting the dentist and constituted about 57 (33.7%) of the total influencing factors. It can be concluded that healthcare seeking behaviour among sever periodontitis patients was poor. So efforts must be made to bring a change in this scenario. Keywords: Severe periodontitis, Response rate, Quality healthcare, Socioeconomic Status, Chronic disease prevention programmes.

Determining the health seeking behavior of patients suffering from Tuberculosis in 21st Century: a critical review

TB accounts for approximately 40% of adult deaths. In almost half of these cases, the disease remains undiagnosed until death. The economic burden of seeking care remains a barrier for TB patients. Patients experiencing TB symptoms may initially seek relief by using self-prescribed medication or by consulting a health care provider who does not request patient (TB) investigations despite repeated visits. Patient delay depends on patients’ knowledge, attitudes and beliefs, which are associated with rural residence, low access to health centre, old age, poverty, gender (depending on country customs), alcohol and other substance dependence, immigration background, low education, low awareness of TB, self-treatment and stigma. Through this article, we wish to review the health seeking behavior of patients suffering from Tuberculosis.

Health-seeking and diagnosis delay and its associated factors: a case study on COVID-19 infections in Shaanxi Province, China

This time-to-event study examines social factors associated with health-seeking and diagnosis of 165 COVID-19 cases in response to the pandemic spread in Shaanxi Province, China. In particular, we investigate the differential access to healthcare in terms of delayed time from symptom onset to first medical visit and subsequently to diagnosis by factors such as sex, age, travel history, and type of healthcare utilization. We show that it takes more time for patients older than 60 (against those under 30) to seek healthcare after developing symptoms (+ 2.5 days, p<0.01), surveillance on people with living or travel history to Wuhan helps shorten the time to the first doctor visit (− 0.8 days) and diagnosis (− 2.2 days, p<0.01). A delay cut is associated with the adoption of intermediary and large hospitals rather than community-based care as primary care choices (− 1.6 days, p<0.1 and − 2.2 days, p<0.05). One unit increase of healthcare workers per 1000 people saves patients 0.5 days (p<0.1) for diagnosis from the first doctor visit and 0.6 days (p<0.05) in total. Our analysis of factors associated with the time delay for diagnosis may provide a better understanding of the health-seeking behaviors of patients and the diagnosis capacity of healthcare providers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Health-seeking behavior and barriers to treatment of patients with upper gastrointestinal cancer detected by screening in rural China: real-world evidence from the ESECC trial

BackgroundTo fully realize efficacy in cancer screening, timely and appropriate treatment for participants with malignant lesions is critical. However, the health-seeking behavior of patients with upper gastrointestinal (G.I.) cancer identified in population-level screening programs in China is unknown. MethodsA community-based real-world investigation was conducted with 136 upper G.I. cancer patients detected in a large screening cohort in an area of high-risk for upper G.I. cancer in China. Using local medical claims data and semi-structured face-to-face interview, we collected information regarding the clinical treatment regimen and factors which result in the lack of timely and appropriate treatment. FindingsThe treatment records for 133 upper G.I. cancer patients were acquired. Among these, 48 (36•09%) patients did not receive treatment within three months of initial diagnosis, and treatment of early-stage cancer was more likely to be delayed. Sixteen patients did not seek further diagnostic testing due to their low health-awareness and socio-economic status. Another 20 participants proactively sought further diagnostic evaluation in health care facilities but were prevented from receiving further treatment due to low sensitivity of given diagnostic test(s), failure to recognize the significance of screening results, and/or lack of basic knowledge of diagnosis and treatment for early cancer on the part of clinicians. The treatment regimen offered to patients depended largely on the level of health care facilities they visited, and non-medical factors were the main reasons for choice of health care facilities. InterpretationA coordinated, system-based management strategy is urgently needed to support the design of upper G.I. cancer screening programs in rural populations in China. FundingThe Charity Project of the National Ministry of Health (201202014), the National Key R & D Program of China (2016YFC0901404), the National Science & Technology Fundamental Resources Investigation Program of China (2019FY101102), and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (82073626).

The influence of sociodemographic behavioural variables on health-seeking behaviour and the utilisation of public and private hospitals in Ghana

PurposeSeveral studies have described health-seeking behaviour within the context of various diseases, the health status and age group. However, knowledge on patient health-seeking behaviour in the use of public and private hospitals and socio-demographic characteristics in developing countries is still scarce. This paper examines the influence of socio-demographic behavioural variables on health-seeking behaviour and the use of public and private health facilities in Ghana.Design/methodology/approachQuantitative research approach uses the modified SERVQUAL dimension as a data collection tool. Descriptive statistics with Pearson's chi-square test were conducted to determine the relationship between socio-demographic behavioural variables and health-seeking behaviour of patients using public and private hospitals.FindingsThe results showed that there is a significant relationship between the socio-demographic characteristics (sex, marital status, education, level of income) and the health-seeking behaviour of patients in regard to the utilisation of public and private health facilities (p < 0.000).Originality/valueThere is a significant relationship between patients' socio-demographic variables and their choice and utilisation of public and private healthcare services. This information is of value to policy makers so that they have an idea on the socio-demographic behavioural variables that influence patients' health-seeking behaviour.