Health seeking behaviour is important in older people with hypertension and overweight, in terms of managing health factors that are related to their health and illness. However, health seeking behaviour of Thai older people is not well documented. This qualitative study aimed to describe health seeking behaviour of overweight hypertensive older people. Seven older women and three men participated in this study through purposive sampling. Qualitative data were gathered via in-depth interviews and were analyzed using content analysis. The results of this study illustrated that older people started to seek health care after understanding the need to seek health care due to the severity of their symptoms. The older people began illness management by using their knowledge to take care of themselves. If management was ineffective, they would seek health care from professional health care providers and traditional healers. Additionally, family members play important roles in the health seeking behaviour of older people. In particular, Thai older people with hypertension and overweight demonstrate various health seeking behaviours that are useful to health care providers in providing appropriate care to these older people, aiming to promote better health of the older people.

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To ensure social workers advocate for the active participation and inclusion of cultural and spiritual practices and belief systems of patients within the healthcare system. It is essential that social workers develop an understanding and educate themselves on the wide variety of cultures and religions recognised and acknowledged in South Africa. The researcher recognised Hinduism is a culture and religion that is commonly practiced in South Africa and that the Hindu population actively participates and practices in accordance to their culture and religion. Hence, it was in the interest of the researcher to investigate the cultural and spiritual factors that influence the health-seeking behaviours of the Hindu population within the healthcare system. The goal of the research study was to explore the cultural and spiritual factors influencing the health-seeking behaviours of the Indian Hindu population in Lenasia. The objectives of the research study were to conceptualise and contextualise cultural and spiritual factors influencing health-seeking behaviours from a health belief perspective; to explore and describe the cultural and the spiritual factors influencing the health-seeking behaviours of the Indian Hindu population in Lenasia. Lastly, to make suggestions to improve social work services in health care, taking into consideration the cultural and spiritual factors influencing health-seeking behaviours amongst the Indian Hindu population. The qualitative research approach was appropriate as the researcher utilised applied research, specifically the evidence-based approach, as the approach enabled the researcher to explore and describe cultural and spiritual factors that influence the health-seeking behaviours of the Indian Hindu population within the healthcare system. Furthermore, practical solutions and recommendations for social workers to improve their social work services within the healthcare system specifically working with Indian Hindu population in Lenasia were provided. The instrumental case study design was appropriate for the research study as it enabled the researcher to develop an interview schedule that asked questions which permitted the participants to provide in-depth responses that express their personalised experiences of Hinduism as a culture and religion. The interview schedule contained sections which were as follows; Biographic information, knowledge of health care seeking behaviour, understanding of cultural and spiritual practices within your cultural/ethnic/spiritual group, spiritual and cultural factors, health-seeking behaviour and the family, services, social work intervention and, lastly, recommendations. The different sections in the interview schedule enabled the researcher to ask questions that were aligned with the goal and objectives of the research study. The population of the research study encompassed of the Indian Hindu population in South Africa and the specific study population for the research study was the Indian Hindu population that resides in the Lenasia community in Gauteng province. The non-probability sampling was appropriate as it enabled the researcher to utilise the purposive sampling method as the method enabled the researcher to develop a selection criterion that selected participants in accordance to the goal of the research study. The snowballing technique was appropriate as the researcher utilised a schoolteacher in Lenasia who referred participants that were in accordance to the selection criteria of the research study. Face-to-face interviews and telephone interviews were conducted to collect the data from the participants. The total number of participants interviewed for the research study were twelve participants which encompassed of nine female participants and three male participants. The participants were between the ages of 43-years-old and 74-years-old. A total of three participants were able to participate through face-to-face interviews. Due to the National lockdown in South Africa the researcher was unable to continue the face-to-face interviews. The most appropriate and applicable data collection was telephone interviews and were utilised to conduct the remaining nine interviews. The Health Belief Model (HBM) was the appropriate model for the research study as the model provides evidence to help develop expertise towards cultural and spiritual factors that influence the health-related decision making of patients. Based on the findings, the model guided the researcher to understand and acknowledge that cultural and spiritual factors play an essential role and influence the health behaviours of the Indian Hindu population within healthcare perspective. The self-efficacy of the participants was acknowledged, as their cultural beliefs and practices enable them to practice healthy living through healthy eating by means of a vegetarian diet, engaging in yoga and meditation and physical activity. The utilisation of home herbal remedies through use of daily household ingredients and the above-mentioned health-seeking behaviours, enable the participants to maintain and control their non-communicable diseases. The HBM referred to perceived benefits in which the participants share the accessibility and availability of family elders, priests, and Gurus within their family system, which permits them to receive valuable health advice and spiritual guidance with healthcare-related issues. The participants have family members who are medical professionals and three of the participants are medical professionals themselves, which enables each family system to have access to adequate healthcare. Access to a healthcare professional in the family system permits the participants to practice positive health-seeking behaviours and seek medical assistance for emergency and annual check-ups. Hindu believers do acknowledge that their vegetarian diet does come with health complications such as Iron deficiency and a lack of Vitamin B12, hence, they do consume medical supplements and medication for their deficiencies and modify their diet according to these deficiencies. The participants expressed there is a wide variety of healthcare systems within Lenasia: public clinics, private hospitals, and accessibility and availability to complementary and alternative healthcare services. Although, there is accessibility of healthcare services, the participants strongly believe that community members without medical aid, rely heavily on Chris Hani Baragwanath Academia Hospital for medical services and receive specialised services in surrounding areas. Therefore, it was concluded that healthcare professionals and social workers need to take into consideration that the Indian Hindu population in Lenasia has access to medical professionals within the family system and practice healthy living. Moreover, the practice and utilisation of complementary and alternative healthcare treatments and procedures such as Allopathic, Homeopathic, Acupuncture, Ayurveda and Aromatherapy is common within the Lenasia community. Additionally, the researcher has identified that Hinduism is a culture and religion that permits flexibility and permits its believers to engage in health-seeking behaviours within the healthcare system and receive essential medical treatment. Hindu families pray and meditate as a family system; thus, making it easier for them to follow a healthy lifestyle and practice Hindu health-seeking behaviours that produce positive health outcomes for the family and the patient. Hinduism as culture and religion live and practice according to a life of Karma, which is the law of cause and effect. The participants suggested social workers should be diverse and open towards the different cultures and religions especially the practices, rituals, and belief systems of Hindus. Based on these conclusions, it is recommended that healthcare professionals and social work professionals should be aware that Hinduism is an open and flexible culture and religion that integrates cultural and spiritual practices and beliefs together with a medical approach. Furthermore, an awareness needs to be created that Indian Hindu patients should be permitted to seek spiritual guidance from their priests and Gurus, be knowledgeable and that the family system plays an essential role in healthcare related decision-making. Key concepts: Behaviour, Cultural factors, Indian Hindu, Influence, Health seeking behaviours, Hinduism, Religion, Spiritual factors / Mini Dissertation (MSW (Health Care) )--University of Pretoria, 2020. / Social Work and Criminology / MSW (Health Care) / Unrestricted

Background: The study examined the effects of the determinants of under-five mortality in Malawi. It therefore aimed to estimate the rate or prevalence of under-five mortality in Malawi and to examine differentials in infant and child mortality by socio-economic, demographic, environmental, health-seeking behaviour and nutritional value. Methods: This study involved a secondary data analysis of the 2010 Malawi Demographic and Health Survey (MDHS) data set of children under five years old and women who had given birth in the five years preceding the survey. The Kaplan-Meier survival analysis and multivariate hazard analysis were used to examine the relationship between under-five mortality and socio-economic. demographic, environmental, health-seeking behaviour and nutritional factors. Results: The results show that birth order, mother's education, place of residence. region and exclusive breastfeeding were significantly associated with under-five mortality. The results also show that there was no significant association between under-five mortality and other indicators of socio-economic. demographic. environmental, health-seeking behaviour. The results also show that more deaths of under-fives occurred during infancy than during childhood. Conclusion: The results show that more deaths occurred during the first months after birth than after 12 months of age. This showed that mother's education, birth order, place of residence, region and breastfeeding had a greater influence on the survival of the child. / Thesis (M.Soc.Sc. Population Studies) North-West University, Mafikeng Campus, 2014

Objectives: The overall aim of this research was to describe the health-seeking behaviours (HSBs) of people in rural Makwanpur, Nepal, and to analyse the patient, household, community, health-system, knowledge and illness factors, and the psychological, social and cultural processes which explain these behaviours. Background: Much about the health status of populations and individuals can be understood by studying how people utilise their health services and the factors associated with this utilisation. HSB studies act as a starting point for the planning of health programmes and the structuring of health systems. Nepal, with its shortage of health providers and funding, its low service usage and its pluralistic medical landscape provides an interesting setting in which to examine HSBs. Most health policies in this context have been devised without taking into account the perspectives of the system users. Moreover, limited formal research on this topic has been carried out in this context. Methods: This study involved a mixed-methods, explanatory sequential design consisting of two phases – quantitative data collection followed by qualitative data collection. Quantitative data was collected using a cross-sectional household survey carried out in 2,334 households across ten VDCs in Makwanpur district between April 2011 and August 2011. Households were selected using a random sampling method. The survey asked about care-seeking in response to an acute episode of illness in the previous one month. Qualitative data was collected after the quantitative data using semi-structured household interviews (n=90) in three VDCs between November and December 2012. The Qualitative interviews were designed to compliment the quantitative findings and to determine the explicit factors associated with care decisions. Results: Of the 2,334 households surveyed,46% had at least one episode of illness in the month prior. The majority of illnesses were infectious or parasitic diseases (42%). Of those households experiencing illnesses, 69% chose to seek care outside of the home; 22% used traditional healers, 37% used allopathic providers and 12% opted for pharmacies as a first option. Sixteen did nothing to address their illnesses, sighting geography, finances, workload and lack of severity as the reasons. Regression models revealed that a host of different patient, household, community, illness, health facility and knowledge factors were associated with care decisions depending on the decision, but illness factors had the greatest impact overall on whether or not a household sought some care or care outside of the home, while household level factors had the greatest impact on the type of care sought outside of the home and the length of delays before seeking care. Patient gender had an impact on whether or not allopathic care was used at least once. Qualitative results revealed that health facility factors were also equally important in determining households’ conscious decision-making about specific providers. Conclusions: Overall it appears that people in Makwanpur are not underutilising health services as suspected. Households use certified government providers most frequently to address their illnesses, and do not rely too heavily on traditional healers or informal providers exclusively. The results indicate that while illness and household factors are important, in order to improve HSBs and increase allopathic care utilisation, a focus should be on improving health service delivery rather than on changing HSBs. However, in order to decrease delays in care-seeking, a focus should be made to reduce household-level barriers to care as well.

abstract: Access to testing for the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), as well as other care services related to HIV/AIDS, have greatly improved in Tanzania over the last decade. Despite the country’s efforts to increase the number of individuals who get tested for HIV annually, it is estimated that only 52.2-70.0% of people living with HIV (PLWH) knew their HIV positive status at the end of 2017. In addition, research in Tanzania has shown that HIV-related stigma and discrimination are widespread and contribute to low uptake of HIV testing and non-adherence to antiretroviral treatment (ART). In order to achieve the goals set forth by the Government of Tanzania and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), as well as move towards an AIDS-free generation, a deeper understanding of the stigma-related barriers to seeking an HIV test is necessary. This research aims to better understand the relationship between HIV-related stigma and attitudes towards HIV testing among community members in Northern Tanzania. In addition, it looked at the specific barriers that contribute to low uptake of HIV testing, as well as the impact of social networks on an individual’s motivation and willingness to get tested for HIV. In this research, community members in Meru District (N = 108, male = 69.4%, female = 28.7%) were surveyed using various validated instruments that covered a range of topics, including knowledge of HIV/AIDS, testing attitudes, and perceived risk of HIV infection. The mean overall score for correct answers on the knowledge measure was 69.8% (SD = 16.4). There were no significant group differences between individuals who had ever tested and individuals who had not tested in relation to HIV/AIDS knowledge or HIV testing attitudes. The factors that were significantly associated with getting an HIV test were knowing someone who had previously tested (p = 0.003), as well as openly discussing HIV testing within one’s social group (p = 0.017). Participants also provided qualitative responses for barriers to receiving an HIV test, motivations for getting tested, and suggested interventions for improving HIV testing uptake. The goal of this research is to develop recommendations for interventions that are better informed by attitudes and motivations for testing. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Biology 2019

While several studies examining African Americans' mental health rates appeared in the past, existing research does not describe internal and external factor influences on positive ethnic identity development and their mediating effects on mental health help-seeking attitudes for this population. This quantitative study used structural equation modeling to examine the relationships between 3 ecological levels (the individual level/level of bicultural identity, the family level/family ethnic socialization, and the social context level/self-concealment) and examine their collective influence on ethnic identity development and mental health help-seeking attitudes of African Americans. The choice of variables for this study was grounded in Stokols' social ecological theory, Lewin's theory of psychological fields, and Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems that outline human development. Results were measured by responses to surveys from 161 African American males and females residing within the Atlanta, Georgia area. The family and social level were more predictive of ethnic identity development and ethnic identity positively and negatively, respectively, related to bicultural self-efficacy. Having the ability to communicate in both mainstream and ethnic cultures was directly predictive of positive attitudes toward seeking professional help. The social change implications of this study included gaining insight into African Americans' difficulty with developing positive ethnic identity and mental health help-seeking, providing professional clinicians with a model of the process of ethnic identity and mental health help-seeking attitude development, and improved advancement in training and cultural-based interventions for clinicians specifically working with minority populations.

In the 21st century, the mobility of world population has posed greater challenges to healthcare practitioners, since they are facing an increasingly diverse patient population from all over the world. At the same time, patients also find it difficult to access and utilize quality health care services in a culturally diverse context. This study examines the role of culture in Chinese international students’ health-seeking behaviours in Canada. The study explores any barriers/perceived barriers that Chinese international students may confront when accessing health care which can prevent them from obtaining quality health care services in Canada. To this end, an intercultural health communication model was employed as a theoretical framework, and semi-structured interviews were used as a data collection tool. While contributing to existing literature on health communication and culture, this study also hopes to contribute to providing Canadian universities and institutions important information regarding Chinese international students’ access to and utilization of health care services with the hope of enhancing the quality of ethnic health care and promoting better health outcomes.

<p>This study is aimed at empirically examining health seeking behaviours in terms of illness response on household level at South Africa using 2007 General Household Survey and other<br /> relevant secondary sources. It provides an assessment of health seeking behaviours at the household level using individuals as unit of analysis by exploring the type of health care provider sought, the reason for delay in health seeking and the cause for not consulting. This study also assesses the extent of dissatisfaction among households using medical centres and this factor in health care utilisation is considered as the main reason for not consulting health care services. All the demographic and health seeking variables utilised in this study are controlled for medical aid cover because it is a critical variable in health care seeking. Therefore this study makes distinction on illness reporting and they type of health care consulted by medical aid holders and non medical aid holders. Statistical analyses are conducted to explore and predict the way in which demographic variables and socio economic variables affect health care seeking behaviours.</p>

In the 21st century, the mobility of world population has posed greater challenges to healthcare practitioners, since they are facing an increasingly diverse patient population from all over the world. At the same time, patients also find it difficult to access and utilize quality health care services in a culturally diverse context. This study examines the role of culture in Chinese international students’ health-seeking behaviours in Canada. The study explores any barriers/perceived barriers that Chinese international students may confront when accessing health care which can prevent them from obtaining quality health care services in Canada. To this end, an intercultural health communication model was employed as a theoretical framework, and semi-structured interviews were used as a data collection tool. While contributing to existing literature on health communication and culture, this study also hopes to contribute to providing Canadian universities and institutions important information regarding Chinese international students’ access to and utilization of health care services with the hope of enhancing the quality of ethnic health care and promoting better health outcomes.