OBJECTIVES: It has been well established that pathways to care are considerably modified 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. This 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. This study enrolled a total of 493 patients. The association between the advice of family members as a reason to seek health care and other predictors was analysed using multivariable logistic regression. RESULTS: The 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: These findings suggest that the advice of family members remains a strong catalyst for care-seeking in Oman. The psychosocial factors affecting care-seeking leading to underutilisation of services or otherwise are discussed.
OBJECTIVES: It has been well established that pathways to care are considerably modified 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. This 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. This study enrolled a total of 493 patients. The association between the advice of family members as a reason to seek health care and other predictors was analysed using multivariable logistic regression. RESULTS: The 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: These findings suggest that the advice of family members remains a strong catalyst for care-seeking in Oman. The psychosocial factors affecting care-seeking leading to underutilisation of services or otherwise are discussed.
Authors: Nabila Al Wahaibi; Anwaar Al Lawati; Falaah Al Ruqeishy; Abdulla Al Khatri; Yahya Al-Farsi; Tahira M A Juma; Fatma Al Hinai; Nasser Al-Sibani; Sangeetha Mahadevan; Samir Al-Adawi Journal: PLoS One Date: 2019-01-31 Impact factor: 3.240