scholarly journals Health-Seeking Behaviors and Self-Care Practices of People with Filarial Lymphoedema in Nepal: A Qualitative Study

2015 ◽  
Vol 2015 ◽  
pp. 1-6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ram Kumar Adhikari ◽  
Jeevan Bahadur Sherchand ◽  
Shiva Raj Mishra ◽  
Kamal Ranabhat ◽  
Amrit Pokharel ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
Self Care ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Foot Care ◽  
Health Seeking ◽  
Major Health Problem ◽  
Major Health ◽  
Health Seeking Behaviors ◽  
Care Practices

Background. Lymphatic filariasis is endemic in Nepal. This study aimed to investigate health-seeking behaviors and self-care practices of people with filarial Lymphoedema in Nepal.Methods. A cross-sectional study was conducted using qualitative methods in three endemic districts. Twenty-three patients with current Lymphoedema were recruited in the study.Results. Hydrocele was found to be a well-known condition and a major health problem in the studied communities. People with Lymphoedema primarily sought health care from traditional healers, whereas sometimes home-based care was their first treatment. Later Ayurvedic and allopathic hospital-based care were sought. Respondents reported various psychological problems such as difficulty in engaging in sexual intercourse, anxiety, worry and stress, depression, low self-esteem, feeling weak, fear of being abandoned, and fear of transmitting disease to the children. Standard foot care practices except washing were largely absent.Conclusions. Lymphoedema in the limbs and hydrocele were found to be major health problems. The traditional health care providers were the first contact of care for the majority of respondents. Only a few patients had been practicing standard foot care practices.

The Influence of Health-Seeking Behaviors on the Health Literacy of Adolescents With Sickle Cell Disease

2021 ◽  
pp. 104345422110110
Author(s):  
Elizabeth P. Caldwell ◽  
Libby E. Rosonet
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Health Literacy ◽  
Sickle Cell Disease ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Cell Disease ◽  
Health Seeking ◽  
Health Seeking Behaviors ◽  
The Mean

Background: Health literacy may influence the transition from pediatric care to adult care in adolescents with sickle cell disease (SCD). It is postulated that one influencing factor of health literacy in adolescents with SCD is health-seeking behavior. The purpose of this study was twofold: (1) to explore health-seeking behaviors of adolescents with SCD and (2) to determine if there are significant differences in health literacy levels of adolescents with SCD based upon health-seeking behaviors. Methods: This was a cross-sectional, descriptive study evaluating health-seeking behaviors and health literacy in 110 Black and non-Hispanic adolescents with SCD. Convenience sampling was utilized for recruitment. The inclusion criteria were a diagnosis of one of the four primary genotypes of SCD and age of 10-19 years. Health literacy was evaluated using the Newest Vital Sign (NVS). Frequencies and percentages were calculated for all variables. Independent Samples t-tests were conducted to evaluate differences in health literacy scores based upon differing health-seeking behaviors. Results: The mean age of participants was 14.8 years ( SD = 2.2). The mean NVS score was 2.7 ( SD = 1.6). The two most common responses to “where do you go FIRST for health information?” were the Internet (29.6%; n = 40) and health care providers (27.4%; n = 37). There was no statistical difference in NVS scores between adolescents using the Internet versus health care providers as their first source of health information ( t[75] = − .12; p = .22). Discussion: Knowledge of health-seeking behaviors and health literacy in adolescents with SCD gives insight into the design and evaluation of future interventions to improve health and health literacy in this population.

Stress, coping, and mental health-seeking behaviors: Gender differences in OEF/OIF health care providers

2012 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 115-119 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susanne W. Gibbons ◽  
Scott D. Barnett ◽  
Edward J. Hickling ◽  
Pamela L. Herbig-Wall ◽  
Dorraine D. Watts
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Gender Differences ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
Stress Coping ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Health Seeking ◽  
Health Seeking Behaviors

Self-care advice for health-care providers during COVID-19

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helen L. Coons ◽  
Steven Berkowitz ◽  
Rachel Davis
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
Self Care ◽  
Care Providers

scholarly journals The role of community pharmacists in increasing access and use of self-care interventions for sexual and reproductive health in the Eastern Mediterranean Region: examples from Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon and Somalia

2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (S1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Luna El Bizri ◽  
Laila Ghazi Jarrar ◽  
Wael K. Ali Ali ◽  
Abdifatah H. Omar
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean ◽  
Self Care ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean Region ◽  
Community Pharmacists ◽  
Health Coverage ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Universal Health

Abstract Background Self-care interventions offer a solution to support the achievement of three goals of the World Health Organization (WHO): to improve universal health coverage, reach people in humanitarian situations, and improve health and well-being. In light of implementing WHO consolidated guidelines on self-care interventions to strengthen sexual and reproductive health (SRH) in the Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR), especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, pharmacists from four different EMR countries discussed the current SRH situation, inequality gaps, barriers to SRH service access and the pharmacist’s crucial role as a first-line responder to patients before, during and after COVID-19. Case presentation Self-care interventions for SRH allow health care providers to serve a greater number of patients, improve progress toward universal health coverage, and reach people in humanitarian crises. In fact, these interventions can be significantly enhanced by utilizing community pharmacists as first-line health care providers. This review highlights the important role of community pharmacists in promoting self-care interventions and empowering individuals, families and communities. As a result, well-informed individuals will be authoritative in their health decisions. Exploring self-care interventions in the EMR was done through reviewing selected SRH services delivery through community pharmacists before and during the COVID-19 pandemic in Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon and Somalia. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, community pharmacists were found to be excluded from both governmental and nongovernmental SRH programmes. During the pandemic, community pharmacists managed to support patients with self-care interventions, whether voluntarily or through their pharmacy associations. This highlights the need for the health care decision-makers to involve and support community pharmacists in influencing policies and promoting self-care interventions. Conclusion Self-care interventions can increase individuals’ choice and autonomy over SRH. Supporting community pharmacists will definitely strengthen SRH in the EMR and may help make the health system more efficient and more targeted.

scholarly journals Review of Health Information Systems in Oman

2007 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 101 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammed Elhadi ◽  
Ahmed Al-Hosni ◽  
Khaled Day ◽  
Adbullah Al-Hamadani ◽  
Abdulrahman Al-Toqi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Information Systems ◽  
Health Information ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
Quality Of Health Care ◽  
Health Information Systems ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Major Health ◽  
Global Quality

This paper is a review of Oman's major Health Information Systems (HISs) and their enabling technologies. The work assesses the scope, functionality, security, and interoperability of the used systems. The review aids in achieving the objectives of HIS systems of improving the global quality of health care, attaining increased coordination between health care providers and consumers, promoting the use of guidelines and policies, and improving the speed of simultaneous access and distribution of medicalrecords and other resources. This paper, which can be considered as a building block towards the development of a nation-wide health care system, studies existing systems and identifies their functions and structures.  

scholarly journals Health care seeking patterns of rifampicin-resistant tuberculosis patients in Harare, Zimbabwe: A prospective cohort study

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (7) ◽  
pp. e0254204
Author(s):  
Rebecca Tadokera ◽  
Stella Huo ◽  
Grant Theron ◽  
Collins Timire ◽  
Salome Manyau-Makumbirofa ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Effective Treatment ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
Private Health Care ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
System Delay ◽  
Health Seeking ◽  
Total Delay ◽  
Resistant Tuberculosis ◽  
Initial Symptoms

Background Delays in seeking and accessing treatment for rifampicin-resistant tuberculosis (RR-TB) and multi-drug resistant (MDR-TB) are major impediments to TB control in high-burden, resource-limited settings. Method We prospectively determined health-seeking behavioural patterns and associations with treatment outcomes and costs among 68 RR-TB patients attending conveniently selected facilities in a decentralised system in Harare, Zimbabwe. Results From initial symptoms to initiation of effective treatment, patients made a median number of three health care visits (IQR 2–4 visits) at a median cost of 13% (IQR 6–31%) of their total annual household income (mean cost, US$410). Cumulatively, RR-TB patients most frequently first visited private facilities, i.e., private pharmacies (30%) and other private health care providers (24%) combined. Median patient delay was 26 days (IQR 14–42 days); median health system delay was 97 days (IQR 30–215 days) and median total delay from symptom onset to initiation of effective treatment was 132 days (IQR 51–287 days). The majority of patients (88%) attributed initial delay in seeking care to “not feeling sick enough.” Total delay, total cost and number of health care visits were not associated with treatment or clinical outcomes, though our study was not adequately powered for these determinations. Conclusions Despite the public availability of rapid molecular TB tests, patients experienced significant delays and high costs in accessing RR-TB treatment. Active case finding, integration of private health care providers and enhanced service delivery may reduce treatment delay and TB associated costs.

scholarly journals Readiness to Deliver Person-Focused Care in A Fragile Situation: The Case of Mental Health Services in Lebanon

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aya Noubani ◽  
Karin Diaconu ◽  
Giulia Loffreda ◽  
Shadi Saleh
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Primary Care ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Mental Health Services ◽  
Health Services ◽  
Health System ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
Mental Healthcare ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Health Seeking

Abstract Background: Evidence suggests wide variability in the provision of mental healthcare across countries. Countries experiencing fragility related risks suffer from a high burden of mental-ill health and additionally have limited capacity to scale up mental health services given financial and human resource shortages. Integration of mental health services into routine primary care is one potential strategy for enhancing service availability, however little is known about the experiences of currently active health care providers involved in mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) service provision at primary care level. This study aims to determine how healthcare providers offering MHPSS services at primary care levels in Lebanon perceive mental health and the health system’s ability to address the rising mental ill-health burden with a view to identify opportunities for strengthening MHPSS service implementation geared towards integrated person focused care model.Methods: A qualitative study design was adopted including 15 semi-structured interviews and 2 participatory group model-building workshops with health care providers (HCPs) involved in mental healthcare delivery at primary care level. Participants were recruited from two contrasting fragility contexts (Beirut and Beqaa). During workshops, causal loop diagrams depicting shared understandings of factors leading to stress and mental ill health, associated health seeking behaviors, and challenges and barriers within the health system were elicited. This research is part of a larger study focused on understanding the dynamics shaping mental health perceptions and health seeking behaviours among community members residing in Lebanon. Results: Findings are organized around a causal loop diagram depicting three central dynamics as described by workshop participants. First, participants linked financial constraints at household levels and the inability to secure one’s livelihood with contextual socio-political stressors, principally referring to integration challenges between host communities and Syrian refugees. In a second dynamic, participants linked exposure to war, conflict and displacement to the occurrence of traumatic events and high levels of distress as well as tense family and community relations. Finally, participants described a third dynamic linking cultural norms and patriarchal systems to exposure to violence and intergenerational trauma among Lebanon’s populations. When describing help-seeking pathways, participants noted the strong influence of social stigma within both the community and among health professionals; the latter was noted to negatively affect patient-provider relationships. Participants additionally spoke of difficulties in the delivery of mental health services and linked this to the design of the health system itself, noting the current system being geared towards patient centered care, which focuses on the patient’s experiences with a disease only, rather than person focused care where providers and patients acknowledge broader structural and social influences on health and work together to reach appropriate decisions for tackling health and other social needs. Barriers to delivery of person focused care include the lack of coherent mental health information systems, limited human capacity to deliver MHPSS services among primary health care staff and inadequate service integration and coordination among the many providers of mental health services in our study contexts. Critically however, provider accounts demonstrate readiness and willingness of health professionals to engage with integrated person focused care models of care.Conclusion: Mental ill health is a major public health problem with implications for individual health and wellbeing; in a fragile context such as Lebanon, the burden of mental ill health is expected to rise and this presents substantive challenges for the existing health system. Concrete multi-sectoral efforts and investments are required to 1) reduce stigma and improve public perceptions surrounding mental ill health and associated needs for care seeking and 2) promote the implementation of integrated person focused care for addressing mental health.

scholarly journals Self-Care Behaviors of Rural Women Post-Invasive Coronary Interventions

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 78-107
Author(s):  
Modjadji Mosima Choshi ◽  
Anne G Rosenfeld ◽  
Mary S Koithan
Keyword(s):  
Coronary Artery Disease ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Coronary Artery ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
Rural Women ◽  
Self Care ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Coronary Interventions ◽  
Artery Disease ◽  
Care Behavior

Purpose: Self-care is an essential component of secondary prevention of coronary artery disease (CAD) for rural women after undergoing invasive coronary interventions (ICI). The purpose of the study was to describe self-care behavior experiences of rural women with CAD post-ICI. The specific aims were: to identify and describe self-care behaviors initiated by rural women post-ICI; and to identify and describe barriers to and facilitators of self-care behavior adoption. The language used to describe self-care can be different between health care providers, who are guided by the American Heart Association (AHA), and rural women whose descriptions are based on their life experiences. Methods: Qualitative descriptive methods were used to purposefully sample women (N=10) from two rural Arizona counties. Data were collected using semi-structured face-to-face interviews, lasting approximately 25minutes. Atlas.ti Mac Version 1.5.2 (462) was used for data analysis. Findings: Aim 1: Healthy diet was the most common self-care behavior described by rural women. When describing self-care behaviors, rural women used a different language, which was in alignment with AHA guidelines for self-care behaviors. Aim 2: Themes identified and described for barriers were: residential environment, health and physical ailments, family conditions, and personal characteristics; and for facilitators were relationships, available resources, and personal outcomes. Conclusions: Regardless of poor health-promoting environment, such as unavailability of fresh food stores and access to exercise opportunities rural women took advantage of what they had to keep healthy. They performed self-care behaviors that they described as good for their health and made them happy without associating them the expected self-care behaviors to prevent reoccurrences and complications post-ICI. Rural health care providers must recognize these challenges, acknowledge the positive assets wihin rural women, and incorporate them into the programs for self-care behavior modification strategies. Keywords: Self-care, rural women, coronary artery disease, invasive coronary interventions DOI:  http://doi.org/10.14574/ojrnhc.v20i2.629  

Perspectives of health care providers on the role of culture in the self-care of patients with chronic heart failure: a qualitative interview study conducted in Israel

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adam Joensson ◽  
Emilie Cewers ◽  
Jean Marc Weinstein ◽  
Tuvia Ben Gal ◽  
Anna Stromberg ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Heart Failure ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
Healthcare Providers ◽  
Self Care ◽  
Cultural Background ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Qualitative Interview Study ◽  
Specific Barriers

Abstract Background: Self-care is recognized as important behaviour in chronic diseases such as heart failure (HF). The cultural background of patients with HF is one of the factors that can be considered to affect their adherence to self-care. The cultural background of the health care providers might also influence their view on self-care behaviour and the education they provide. The aim of this study was to describe health care providers' perceptions of the role of culture in self-care and how those perceptions shape their experiences and their practices.Methods: A qualitative study was performed in Israel, a country with a culturally diverse population. Data was collected using semi-structured interviews with 12 healthcare providers from different cultural backgrounds, selected by purposeful sampling, from two hospitals in Israel. Interviews were audio recorded and transcribed verbatim. Data was analysed using content analysis.Results: Healthcare providers experienced cultural background influenced their patients’ self-care behaviour. Perceived cultural-specific barriers to self-care such as: dietary traditions interfering with the recommended HF diet, willingness to undertake self-care and beliefs conflicting with medical treatment were identified. Healthcare providers described that they adapted their patient education and care based on the cultural background of the patients. Shared cultural background, awareness and knowledge of differences were described as positively influencing self-care education, while cultural differences could complicate this process. These findings are encapsulated within four categories regarding perceptions of health care providers: ‘Culture permeates self-care behaviours’, ‘Culture influence the way care is provided’, ‘Mutual cultural background impacts the mindset to address self-care’ and ‘Culture is only a small piece of the puzzle...’Conclusions: Cultural-specific barriers for self-care were perceived by health care providers and they identified that their own cultural background shapes their experiences and their practices.

Health Care System in Pakistan: A review

2016 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 211-216 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shumaila Arshad ◽  
Hira Waris ◽  
Maria Ismail ◽  
Ayesha Naseer
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Health Care System ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
Gender Discrimination ◽  
Health Care Systems ◽  
Cultural Beliefs ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Health Seeking ◽  
Care Systems ◽  
Care System

Health systems are expected to serve the population needs in an effective, efficient and equitable manner. The factors determining the health behaviors may be seen in various contexts physical, socio-economic, cultural and political. Therefore, the utilization of a health care system, public or private, formal or non-formal, may depend on socio-demographic factors, social structures, level of education, cultural beliefs and practices, gender discrimination, status of women, economic and political systems environmental conditions, and the disease pattern and health care system itself. Policy makers need to understand the drivers of health seeking behavior of the population in an increasingly pluralistic health care system. Also a more concerted effort is required for designing behavioral health promotion campaigns through inter-sectoral collaboration focusing more on disadvantaged segments of the population. The paper reviews the health care providers, the national policies emphasizing health services as well as health care systems in Pakistan and the role of the pharmacist in health care system of Pakistan, health and economics of Pakistan and current budgeting policies and the importance of non government organizations in health care system of Pakistan.

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