Emerging trends and patterns in healthcare-seeking behavior: A systematic review

Abstract

Objectives: The study of healthcare-seeking behavior is essential for optimizing resource allocation and improving healthcare services. Its complexity and diversity have made it a prominent research area. Understanding factors influencing healthcare-seeking decisions allows targeted interventions and policy development to address barriers and ensure equitable access to quality healthcare for diverse populations. Such research plays a vital role in enhancing healthcare outcomes and overall population health. Methods: The study utilized a systematic quantitative literature review approach, employing the Web of Science (WOS) Core Collection and PubMed databases as data sources. Additionally, bibliometric tools such as CiteSpace and VOSviewer were employed for analysis and visualization of the literature. Results: A comprehensive statistical analysis and visualization were performed on the annual publication volume, publication countries, journals, keywords, and keyword co-occurrence patterns up until 2023. Through this analysis, a framework was established, identifying the determinants and fundamental elements of healthcare-seeking behavior. These findings contribute to the advancement of research in this field and inform future studies and interventions aimed at improving healthcare-seeking behavior. Conclusions: Based on the aforementioned literature review and framework, several conclusions were drawn. The determinants that facilitate healthcare-seeking behavior include improving health education awareness, enhancing healthcare resources, reducing costs, and ensuring system soundness. Additionally, providing social environment support was found to be crucial. Furthermore, the fundamental elements of healthcare-seeking behavior were identified as healthcare demand, healthcare choices, and the process of diagnosis and treatment. These findings provide valuable insights for developing interventions and policies to promote optimal healthcare-seeking behavior.