Health seeking behaviour in general population with psychological symptoms.

BACKGROUND Health seeking behaviour is a complex construct in patients with psychological symptoms. The aim of this study was to determine a one-month prevalence of psychological symptoms in Slovenian general population and to identify correlates of health seeking behaviour. SUBJECTS AND METHODS This study was conducted in a representative sample of 1,002 randomly selected Slovenian citizens, stratified according to sex and age. We used a method of computer assisted telephone interview (CATI). The questionnaire consisted of demographic questions, questions about the prevalence and duration of preselected symptoms in the past month (irritability, nervousness), questions about the presence of chronic diseases, EQ-5D questionnaire and the questions on health seeking behaviour (self-treatment, lay advice seeking and medical advice seeking). RESULTS The self-reported prevalence of psychological symptoms in the past month was 38.0% (381/1,002). Multivariate analysis for the presence of self-reported psychological symptoms revealed that female sex, higher age, the presence of chronic disease, primary education, lay-advice seeking, pain and the presence of anxiety/depression on EQ-5D questionnaire were independently associated with psychological symptoms. CONCLUSIONS Psychological symptoms are a major public health problem in Slovenian general adult population and the self-reported utilization of professional health care services by Slovenian population is high. Other patterns such as lay referral system might have a crucial influence on the final decision to seek medical help.