Journal Article

Factors influencing health-seeking behavior among Sudanese immigrants in Saudi Arabia

Abdelgyoum, Hafeia A., Elhelali, Ala, Elfaki, Noor S.

2024

Overview

Background Health-seeking behavior (HSB) involves any action or inaction taken by individuals who perceive themselves to have a health problem or illness aimed at finding appropriate medical treatments. Studies suggest a positive relationship between the availability and quality of health services and their utilization. This study aimed to identify the factors influencing health-seeking behavior among Sudanese immigrants in Saudi Arabia, to improve healthcare access and health outcomes. Method A cross-sectional study was conducted targeting Sudanese residents of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). Participants were recruited using convenient sampling. A self-administered questionnaire was distributed electronically. A total of 494 participants were recruited for the study. Results This study showed that the majority of the participants (66.6%) visited a primary healthcare center when faced with a medical problem. However, the prevalence of self-medication in the past three months was 45.7%. Significant factors influencing health-seeking behavior included age (OR [95% CI]: 1.032 [1.000-1.066]) and lack of health insurance (OR = 1.01, 95% CI [1.00-1.02], p  = 0.019). Conclusions This study emphasizes the importance of understanding healthcare-seeking behavior among immigrant groups, particularly Sudanese immigrants in Saudi Arabia. It highlights the significance of insurance as a determinant of healthcare-seeking behavior and calls for reforming current policies to reduce disparities in accessing healthcare services.

• Publisher: BioMed Central,BioMed Central Ltd,Springer Nature B.V,BMC
• Subject: Adolescent / Adult / Age / Analysis / Behavior / Biostatistics / Calling behavior / Cross-Sectional Studies / Data analysis / Data collection / Demographic aspects / Drug self-administration / Drugs / Economic aspects / Emigrants and Immigrants - psychology / Emigrants and Immigrants - statistics & numerical data / Environmental Health / Epidemiology / Factors influencing health-seeking behavior / Female / Health aspects / Health behavior / Health care / Health care access / Health care disparities / Health care industry / Health care policy / Health insurance / Health problems / Health services / Health Services Accessibility - statistics & numerical data / Health services utilization / Health status / Health-seeking behavior / Healthcare-seeking behavior / Help seeking behavior / Humans / Immigrants / Insurance / Insurance coverage / Male / Marginalized groups / Medical treatment / Medicine / Medicine & Public Health / Middle Aged / Migration / Passports & visas / Patient Acceptance of Health Care - ethnology / Patient Acceptance of Health Care - psychology / Patient Acceptance of Health Care - statistics & numerical data / Perceptions / Physicians / Primary care / Public Health / Questionnaires / Reforming / Regression analysis / Sampling / Saudi Arabia / Self-care, Health / Self-medication / Social aspects / Social networks / Sociodemographics / Socioeconomic factors / Sudan - ethnology / Sudanese immigrants / Surveys and Questionnaires / Treatment methods / Vaccine / Young Adult