This paper analyses the effect of wealth status on care-seeking patterns and health expenditures in Afghanistan, based on a national household survey conducted within public health facility catchment areas. We found high rates of reported care-seeking, with more than 90% of those ill seeking care. Sick individuals from all wealth quintiles had high rates of care-seeking, although those in the w...

People affected by severe stigmatising skin diseases (SSSDs) often live in the poorest communities, within countries, and experience a range of barriers to seeking timely, quality care. This scoping review analyses available literature on health-seeking for patients SSSDs, identify enablers health-seeking. We searched MEDLINE complete, CINAHL, Global Health databases suitable articles published...

BACKGROUND Post-treatment follow-up visits for gynecological cancer survivors should provide opportunities for management of adverse physical/psychological effects of therapy and early recurrence detection. However, the adequacy of such visits in Japan is poorly documented. We qualitatively explored care-seeking experiences of Japanese gynecological cancer survivors and deduced factors influenc...

BACKGROUND The burden of maternal complications during antepartum and intrapartum periods is high and care seeking from a trained provider is low, particularly in low middle income countries of sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. Identification of barriers to access to trained care and development of strategies to address them will contribute to improvements in maternal health. Using data from a...

Young adult Black males face challenges related to addressing their mental health needs, yet there is much more to know about their help-seeking experiences. Twenty-seven Black males, recruited from four community-based organizations, participated in four focus groups to explore perceptions of help-seeking for mental health. Identified themes, which function at individual, social network, commu...

BACKGROUND It has been suggested that psychological factors rather than symptoms drive subjects with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) to seek medical care, but this issue has not been tackled in a population based study. AIM To identify whether psychological factors or abuse explain health care seeking for IBS. METHODS A sample of residents of Penrith (a Sydney suburb representative of the Au...

BACKGROUND Barriers to seeking care for urinary incontinence are specific, objective, external conditions that prevent incontinence sufferers from seeking treatment. The aim of this study was to compare barriers, gender, and health care disparities in incontinence sufferers. METHODS Incontinent patients were recruited into a questionnaire-based cross-sectional study. The 14-item Barriers to I...

BACKGROUND Acute lower respiratory illness (ALRI) is a major global cause of morbidity and mortality among children under 5. Antibiotic treatment for ALRI is inexpensive and decreases case fatality, but care-seeking patterns and appropriate treatment vary widely across countries. This study sought to examine patterns of appropriate treatment and estimate the burden of cases of untreated ALRI in...

BACKGROUND Delay in seeking care for sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) has adverse consequences for both the individual and population. We sought to identify factors associated with delay in seeking care for STDs. METHODS Subjects included 300 young men and women (aged 15-24) attending an urban STD clinic for a new STD-related problem due to symptoms or referral for an STD screening. Subje...

INTRODUCTION Early treatment of Tuberculosis (TB) cases is important for reducing transmission, morbidity and mortality associated with TB. In 2007, Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nigeria recorded low TB case detection rate (CDR) of 9% which implied that many TB cases were undetected. We assessed the knowledge, care-seeking behavior, and factors associated with patient delay among pulmonary T...