Relatives’ advice and health care-seeking behavior in Oman

Abstract EN

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.