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Background People with multiple sclerosis (MS) require complex care throughout life. Canadians with MS are high users of health‐care services, yet still report unmet health‐care needs and low satisfaction with services received. Objective This study aimed to investigate the health‐care access experiences of Ontarians with MS as they manage their condition. Design and Participants Interpretive description guided data collection and analysis. Forty‐eight people living across seven communities participated. Thirty‐eight participated in one of five focus groups; the remaining 10 participated in an individual semi‐structured interview. Results Participants described the experience of accessing care as a decisional process, guided by a form of cost‐benefit analysis. The process determined whether seeking conventional health‐care services ‘is worth it’. Most participants felt that the energy and resources required to access the health‐care system outweighed their expected outcomes, based on past experiences. Participants who did not see the benefit of care seeking turned to self‐treatment, use of complementary and alternative services, and engaged in patterns of health‐care avoidance until a crisis arose. Discussion and Conclusion Findings suggest that a renewed effort to promote patient‐centred care and a biopsychosocial approach may improve the health‐care access experiences of persons with MS and reduce service avoidance.

The psychological suffering of teachers is a relevant problem in the Brazilian society, being an emerging social demand since, in addition to influencing the professional’s mental and physical health, it affects their quality of life, as well as the performance at work. The research aimed to know the factors related to the physical and psychological health of high school teachers. This was a qualitative, exploratory, descriptive field study carried out in two high schools in the municipality of Santarém, state of Pará, Northern Brazil - one of which is public and the other private, with high school teachers as participants. The semi-structured script was used as a collection instrument. The results showed that factors causing damage to the professional physical and mental health are related to conflicts with students, lack of motivation to work, precarious environment, devaluation of the profession, long working hours, low wages, stress, frustration with the profession, depression, instability, among others. It was possible to identify the factors related to the process of physical and psychological illness in high school teachers, which contribute to healthproblemsanddifficultiestodeveloptheirprofessionalactivities. These are relevant results that  can support actions and measures aimed at the well-being of teachers in their workplace.

Black Canadians, representing 4.3% of the population, face significant mental health disparities driven by systemic barriers, racial discrimination, and stigma. Existing research highlights elevated rates of depression, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress disorder, while Black youth continue to face various barriers in accessing mental health care. Using a socioecological perspective, this study explores different levels of barriers to mental health care among Black youth in Canada. A qualitative descriptive study was conducted in Canada among a sample of 32 Black youth (aged 15–24). Participants were recruited through snowball sampling and interviewed virtually using semistructured interviews. Data were analyzed inductively using thematic analysis in NVivo. Thematic analysis revealed interconnected community, relational, and individual barriers to mental health care seeking among Black youth in Canada. Community barriers included harmful stereotypes, mental health stigma within the Black communities, limited awareness of accessible services, and lack of therapist–client racial matching. Relational barriers encompassed parental discouragement and bias on mental health, mistrust of both practitioners and the mental health care system, negative experience with mental health care providers, and social judgement, while individual barriers included denial of mental health care needs and shame. These findings emphasize systemic, cultural, and racial challenges faced by Black youth in the Canadian society. This study underscores the interconnected community, relational, and individual barriers Black youth face in accessing mental health care. Addressing these challenges requires targeted education and mobilization in Black communities, culturally sensitive and antiracist care, training for mental health providers on antiracist care, and a shift in societal attitudes to reduce stigma and encourage help-seeking. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: journal abstract)

Background Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is highly prevalent worldwide but mechanisms for healthcare seeking behaviours in this patient group are poorly understood. Objective To describe healthcare utilization and identify factors associated with seeking healthcare amongst IBS subjects in the general population. Methods An internet survey was completed by 6,300 individuals equally distributed between United States, United Kingdom and Canada. The Rome IV diagnostic questionnaire was used to identify subjects with IBS. Data on demographics, medical history, gastrointestinal (GI) and non‐GI symptoms, quality of life and health care consumption was collected. Results A total of 5,931 subjects were included; 274 (4.6%) IBS subjects and 5657 (95.3%) non‐IBS controls. IBS subjects reported more doctor consultations for both GI and other health problems as well as increased use of medication and rate of abdominal surgery (appendectomy excluded). Having healthcare insurance or access to free public healthcare (adjusted odds ratio (AOR) 4.49, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.31–15.44), followed by high frequency of bloating (AOR 2.65, 95% CI 1.42–4.93) and increasing age (AOR 1.02, 95% CI 1.01–1.05) were found to be independently associated with being an IBS consulter while doctor‐diagnosed IBS subjects were more likely to be female and to report abdominal pain as their most bothersome GI symptom than other consulters with IBS. Conclusion IBS subjects have higher healthcare utilization than non‐IBS controls, medication use and abdominal surgery included. Furthermore, consulters with and without an IBS diagnosis differ in sex distribution and symptom profiles. Hence, awareness of the possibility of unnecessary medical and surgical treatment in IBS subjects and a sex‐related diagnostic bias by doctors is warranted.

INTRODUCTION: Owing to a decrease in visits to health-care facilities due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, the health-care-seeking behaviour of the Japanese lay public has yet to be adequately clarified.AIM: To explore health-care-seeking behaviour of the Japanese lay public during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.METHODS: We conducted a web-based questionnaire survey in September 2020 to enquire about visits to health-care facilities for disease treatment and preventive services (health check-ups or cancer screening tests) during two periods: mid-February to May 2020 and from June to September 2020. Survey respondents were selected from people who voluntarily registered with a Japanese consumer research company, excluding health-care workers. Respondents’ residence and sex were adjusted to represent the Japanese population. Survey results were aggregated after anonymizing respondents’ personal information.RESULTS: In total, 2137 people responded to the survey. The proportion of respondents who avoided new and follow-up visits to health-care facilities were 31.1% and 25.0%, respectively, in the first period and 19.1% and 12.5%, respectively, in the second period. In both periods, dentistry and general medicine were the most avoided health-care sites. Trying to avoid infection was the main motivation for this behaviour. Nearly half of respondents stated that they would not visit health facilities after the COVID-19 infection became controlled.DISCUSSION: During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Japanese lay public indicated that they would avoid new and follow-up visits to health-care facilities. The highlighted changes in health-care-seeking behaviour may be long-term, even after COVID-19 is under control.

To investigate the barriers that prevent or delay people seeking a sexually transmitted infection (STI) test. Qualitative in‐depth interviews were conducted with 24 university students, who are a group prone to behaviours putting them at risk of STIs, to understand the factors that had prevented or delayed them from going for an STI test in the past. Resulting data were thematically analysed employing a qualitative content analysis method, and a final set of themes identified. There were three main types of barrier to STI testing. These were: personal (underestimating risk, perceiving STIs as not serious, fear of invasive procedure, self‐consciousness in genital examination and being too busy); structural (financial cost of test and clinician attributes and attitude); and social (concern of being stigmatised). These data will help health providers and policy‐makers provide services that minimise barriers and develop effective strategies for improving STI testing rates. The results of this study suggest a holistic approach to encouraging testing is required, which includes addressing personal beliefs, working with healthcare providers to minimise structural barriers and developing initiatives to change social views about STIs.

Objective: To determine the health care seeking behaviour and its association with socio-demographic factors among newly diagnosed Human Immunodeficiency virus infection patients. Study Design: Cross sectional analytical study. Place and Duration of Study: The study was conducted in a regional blood centre and an Institute of Pathology affiliated with National University of Medical Sciences (NUMS) in Rawalpindi, from Feb 2019 to Oct 2019. Methodology: A pretested structured questionnaire was used to collect data from thirty newly diagnosed (within last one year) Human Immunodeficiency Virus Infection (HIV) patients, using consecutive sampling. Age, education, socioeconomic score (SES), family size, income and months living with HIV were divided into groups for analysis. Chi square test was applied to determine association between these variables and health care seeking behaviour. Data was analysed using SPSS version 22. A p-value of <0.05 was taken as significant. Results: The participants were divided into three groups depending on their total questionnaire score value based on cut-off score value of 60%. Out of total 30 patients, 7 (23.3%) had inappropriate behaviour, 18 (60%) moderately appropriate and 5 (16.7%) appropriate behaviour respectively. No statistically significant association (p-value >0.05) was found between these independent variables and overall health care seeking behaviour. Conclusions: Health care seeking behaviour of newly diagnosed Human Immunodeficiency Virus infected patients was moderately appropriate and no significant association was found between sociodemographic variables and health care seeking behaviour.

Background Cervical cancer is a preventable disease. However, it remains the commonest and deadly cancer in women worldwide. Health care seeking behaviour is not well studied in Ethiopia even though it is crucial in averting cervical cancer by maximizing cervical cancer screening utilization. Therefore, this study amid to assess health care seeking behaviour towards cervical cancer screening and its associated factors among women aged 30–49 years in Arba Minch town, Southern Ethiopia, 2023. Methods A community-based cross-sectional study design was conducted on 414 women who are in the age range of 30–49 in Arba Minch town from January 2-February20, 2023. Study participants were selected by a simple random sampling technique from all kebeles and data were collected using pretested interviewer administered questionnaires. SPSS version 27 was used to conduct binary and multivariable logistic regression analysis. Socio-demographic characteristics of the respondents were described using descriptive statistics. Furthermore, binary and multivariable logistic regression analyses were made to find the factors associated with health care seeking behaviour. Variables with a p -value less than 0.25 on binary logistic regression were selected for multivariable logistic regression. Variables with a p -value < 0.05 were considered statistically significant. The reliability and internal consistency of the constructs of health belief model were calculated independently using Cronbach’s alpha. Result The prevalence of health care seeking behaviour towards cervical cancer screening was 197(47.6%) [95%CI: 42.7-52.5%]. Respondents’ good knowledge [AOR = 1.55, 95%CI: 1.01–2.39], positive perceived susceptibility [AOR = 3.63, 95%CI: 2.06–6.42], positive perceived severity [AOR = 2.65, 95%CI: 1.71–4.09], positive perceived benefits [AOR = 4.85, 95%CI: 2.92–7.87] were significantly associated with health seeking behaviour. Conclusion The prevalence of health care seeking behaviour towards cervical cancer screening is low in this study. To maximize the health care seeking behavior of women, further acting on perceived susceptibility, respondents’ knowledge, perceived severity, and perceived benefit of the woman are crucial.

Background People with disabilities constitute about 10% of the total population of Bangladesh. They are more likely to experience poor health than those without disabilities. However, there is a lack of evidence on their primary health care (PHC) seeking behaviour for their general illness. The aim of this study was to understand the PHC seeking behaviour of people with physical disabilities (PWPDs), and to investigate the determinants of such behaviours. Methods We surveyed 282 PWPDs, aged ≥18 years, using a structured questionnaire. Participants were recruited from the out-patient department of a rehabilitation centre in Dhaka between November and December 2014. We explored PHC seeking behaviour using frequency distribution. We performed logistic regression to investigate the factors that determined their PHC seeking behaviours for general illness. In our logistic regression model, the outcome variable was whether PWPDs received treatment from a formal health care provider. The predictors were socio-demographic characteristics and clinical characteristics such as type of impairment and type of illness experienced. Results Among 282 participants, 85% suffered from general illness in the past 6 months. The participants in the higher age group, for example, age group 31–45 years (OR = 3.9, [95% CI 1.2 to 13.4]), 46–59 years (OR = 13.6, [95% CI 2.9 to 63.7) and 60+ years (OR = 12.5, [95% CI 1.7 to 93.0]) were more likely to seek treatment from formal health care providers than the age group 18–30 years. The educational attainment of the primary income earning family member (OR = 3.2, [CI 1.1 to 9.6]), religion (OR = 0.3, [95% CI 0.1 to 0.98]) and mobility aid used (OR = 4.0, [95% CI 1.2 to 13]) were determinants for seeking health care from a formal health care provider. Moreover, the type of illness suffered by participant was a strong predictor of their decision to seek treatment from a formal health care provider. The participants who suffered from urinary tract infections (OR = 10.3, [95% CI 2.3 to 46.6]), ulcers (OR = 13.1, [95% CI 2.11 to 79.3]) and pain (OR = 3.6, [95% CI 1.4 to 9.4]) were more likely to seek treatment from formal health care provider than who suffered from fever. Conclusions Age, religion, earning member’s education, type of mobility aids used and type of illness suffered were explicative determinants of PHC seeking behaviour of PWPDs. The results suggest that these factors should be considered when devising interventions for this population. Moreover, accessibility, quality of care and expertise of the providers in treating disabled people were among the other factors reported by PWPDs which influence their decision to seek health care. In order to provide inclusive health services, primary health centres need to consider these determinants.

Given the targeted 4–5% annual reduction of tuberculosis (TB) cure cases to reach the “End TB Strategy” by 2020 milestone globally set by WHO, exploration of TB health seeking behavior is warranted for insightful understanding. This qualitative study aims to provide an account of the social, cultural, and socioeconomic breadth of TB cases in Bangladesh. We carried out a total of 32 In-depth Interviews (IDIs) and 16 Key Informant Interviews (KIIs) in both rural and urban areas of Bangladesh. We covered both BRAC [a multinational Non-governmental Organization (NGO)] and non-BRAC (other NGOs) TB program coverage areas to get an insight. We used purposive sampling strategy and initially followed “snowball sampling technique” to identify TB patients. Neuman’s three-phase coding system was adopted to analyze the qualitative data. Underestimation of TB knowledge and lack of awareness among the TB patients along with the opinions from their family members played key roles on their TB health seeking behavior. Quick decision on the treatment issue was observed once the diagnosis was confirmed; however, difficulties were in accepting the diseases. Nevertheless, individual beliefs, intrinsic ideologies, financial abilities, and cultural and social beliefs on TB were closely inter-connected with the “social perception” of TB that eventually influenced the care seeking pathways of TB patients in various ways. Individual and community level public health interventions could increase early diagnosis; therefore, reduce recurrent TB.