Relatives’ Advice and Health Care-Seeking Behaviour in Oman
Journal Title: Sultan Qaboos University Medical Journal - Year 2009, Vol 9, Issue 3
Abstract
It has been well established that pathways to care are considerably modifed by local, social and psychological characteristics as well as the doctor-patient relationship. Scant attention has been paid to the role of family advice in care-seeking. In Omani society, traditional family values and a collective mindset are the norm rather than the exception. Tis paper examines how family advice affects the trajectory of care seeking. Methodology: During 2006-2007, data was collected through face-to-face interviews among a randomised sample of patients seeking medical consultation in various primary health care centres in the northern region of Oman. Tis study enrolled a total of 493 patients. Te association between the advice of family members as a reason to seek health care and other predictors was analysed using multivariable logistic regression. Results: Te data suggest that the advice of family members in care-seeking is strongly associated with gender, education, history of chronic illness, previous exposure to traditional medicine, and health education, as well as the history of immunisation. Conclusion: Tese fndings suggest that the advice of family members remains a strong catalyst for care-seeking in Oman. Te psychosocial factors affecting care-seeking leading to underutilisation of services or otherwise are discussed.
Authors and Affiliations
Ahmed Al-Mandhari| Departments of Family Medicine and Public Health, Sultan Qaboos University Hospital, Sultanate of Oman, Samir Al-Adawi| Department of Behavioral Medicine, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Sultan Qaboos University, Sultanate of Oman, Ibrahim Al-Zakwani| Departments of Pharmacy, Sultan Qaboos University Hospital, Sultanate of Oman, Mohammed Al-Shafaee| Departments of Family Medicine and Public Health, Sultan Qaboos University Hospital, Sultanate of Oman, Liyam Eloul| Department of Behavioral Medicine, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Sultan Qaboos University, Sultanate of Oman
Keywords
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