. Atefeh Khajeh; . Hossein Molavi Vardanjani; . Alireza Salehi; . Negin Rahmani; . Sajad Delavari
Volume 9, Issue 9 , September 2019, , Pages 1-7
Abstract
INTRODUCTION: Health systems aimed to increase health utilization. Habits and behavior aboutusing health facilities, which is called health-seeking behavior, are different among different ...
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INTRODUCTION: Health systems aimed to increase health utilization. Habits and behavior aboutusing health facilities, which is called health-seeking behavior, are different among different culturesand influenced by different factors. The present study is aimed at investigating Iranian Southernpopulation health‑seeking behavior and its influencing factors.MATERIALS AND METHODS: Asample of 397 people was selected using proportional stratified randomsampling for this cross‑sectional study. They were asked to fill a questionnaire about their health‑seekingbehaviors (seeking treatment, inattention to treatment, and self-medication) and socioeconomic factors.Data were analyzed using regression models including linear, ordinal, and logistic regressions.RESULTS: Near 80% of participants reported self‑medication and most of them prefer public hospitalsas their first point of contact with health system compared to others such as family physician. Usinglinear regression revealed seeking treatment has significant relationship with age (P = 0.037), livingplace (P = 0.018), and having complementary insurance (P = 0.013). Self‑medication behavior hasrelation with age (P = 0.015), gender (P = 0.039), education years (P = 0.031), living place (P = 0.005),having complementary insurance (P = 0.001), and satisfaction with health‑care providers (P = 0.003)in logistic regression. Using ordinal regression, it was found that inattention to treatment hasa relation with education years (P = 0.044), living place (P = 0.042), having complementaryinsurance (P = 0.049), and severity of illness (P = 0.031).CONCLUSION: Southern population does not accept family physician as the first point of interactionwith the health system, and they prefer to go to public hospitals directly. Moreover, self-medicationis a prevalent behavior among the population and thus their acceptance of health care is low. Basedon the findings, it can be suggested providing more satisfying health care, increasing insurancecoverage, and informing population could lead to better utilization of health‑care services.
