Healthcare-seeking behaviours for sexually transmitted infections among women attending the National Institute of Dermatology and Venereology in Vietnam

Do, Hien Thi Thu; Ziersch, Anna; Hart, Gavin

doi:10.1136/sti.2006.022079

Cited by 21 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 8 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…and (2) Delayed seeking behavior refers to patients who seek care after 7 days of the onset of STI symptoms and coded as “0”. The measurement for the outcome variable was adopted from previous studies 12,25,26. Data regarding reasons for delayed health care were collected by asking study participants “when did you start to have the most recent symptoms?” followed by “why you did not come early” for those who had one or more of the STI symptoms more than a week,…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

<p>Delayed health care seeking is high among patients presenting with sexually transmitted infections in HIV hotspot areas, Gambella town, Ethiopia</p>

Tsadik

Lam

Hadush

2019

HIV

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background Delayed health care seeking is one of the major impediments to successfully prevent and control sexually transmitted infections (STIs) including HIV. Gambella is one of the HIV hot spot areas and the most HIV prevalent region in the country. Considering the empirical knowledge of the link between STIs and HIV, gathering information on health-seeking behavior and the associated factors among STI patients is helpful to design interventions that enhance early seeking and treatment adherence. Methodology A facility-based cross-sectional study was employed to collect data from 424 STI patients from February 15 to April 15, 2017, using a face-to-face interview. A consecutive sampling method was used until the allocated sample for each facility was fulfilled. A multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to identify factors associated with health-seeking behavior. Results The proportion of delayed health care seeking among patients treated for STIs was 56.8%. Knowledge, number of sexual partners, and perception variables were found significantly associated with early seeking behavior in multivariate logistic regression: patients who had better knowledge of STIs (AOR =1.74, 95% CI =1.10, 2.73), had single sexual partner (AOR =1.83, 95% CI =1.19, 2.78), those who perceived stigma for STIs (AOR =0.52, 95% CI =0.34, 0.79), and perceived severity of STIs (AOR =1.97, 95% CI =1.18, 3.29). Conclusion This study reported a high proportion of delayed health care seeking. This may challenge the prevention and control effort and alarms the potential threat to the spread of STI/HIV in the region. Provision of intensive health education is crucial to improve awareness and to avoid risk behaviors and negative perceptions.

show abstract

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

<p>Delayed health care seeking is high among patients presenting with sexually transmitted infections in HIV hotspot areas, Gambella town, Ethiopia</p>

Tsadik

Lam

Hadush

2019

HIV

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The primary outcome variable, Total Care-Seeking Interval, was highly skewed, with 70% of subjects seeking care within 7 days, and 3% waiting more than 100 days before seeking care. Thus, we categorized Total Care-Seeking Interval as those who sought care rapidly (≤ 7 days) or those who delayed seeking care (> 7 days) because delay in seeking care by more than 7 days has been associated with significant health outcomes and was the cut point used by most other studies on this topic [3, 4, 23, 24]. Although defined as “delay in seeking care”, this period refers to the entire span of time an at-risk STD patient undergoes before completing STD screening, with at-risk defined as the experience of STD symptom or referral by partner/healthcare provider.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Delay in seeking care for STDs can result in transmission to others, increase the risk of acquiring further infections (including HIV), or increase the likelihood of consequences such as infertility and chronic pelvic pain. Previous research suggests that 20% to 50% of persons delay seeking care and testing for STDs by more than a week; with many waiting a month or more [3-5]. Therefore, emphasizing early diagnosis and management of STDs are crucial public health strategies.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…attitudes, social stigma, mental or physical health conditions) or health system factors (clinic or testing factors) [3-5, 12-18]. Several previously conducted studies have found women tend to delay seeking care longer than men, especially if the visit is due to symptoms [3-5, 18]. Women with symptoms often delay seeking care because they believe the symptoms are normal or unrelated to STDs, and thus may initially wait for the symptoms to subside.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Delay in Seeking Care for Sexually Transmitted Diseases in Young Men and Women Attending a Public STD Clinic

Malek¹,

Chang²,

Clark³

et al. 2013

Open AIDS J

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background: Delay in seeking care for sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) has adverse consequences for both the individual and population. We sought to identify factors associated with delay in seeking care for STDs.Methods: Subjects included 300 young men and women (aged 15-24) attending an urban STD clinic for a new STD-related problem due to symptoms or referral for an STD screening. Subjects completed a structured interview that evaluated STD history, attitudes and beliefs about STDs, depression, substance use, and other factors possibly associated with delay. Delay was defined as waiting > 7 days to seek and obtain care for STDs.Results: Nearly one-third of participants delayed seeking care for > 7 days. Significant predictors for delay included self-referral for symptoms as the reason for visit (OR 5.3, 95% CI: 2.58 – 10.98), and the beliefs “my partner would blame me if I had an STD” (OR 2.44, 95% CI: 1.30 – 4.60) and “it’s hard to find time to get checked for STDs” (OR 3.62, 95% CI: 1.95 – 6.69), after adjusting for age, race, sex, and other factors. Agreeing with the statement “would use a STD test at home if one were available” was associated with a decrease in delay (OR 0.24, 95% CI: 0.09 – 0.60).Conclusions: Many young persons delay seeking care for STDs for a number of reasons. Strategies to improve STD care-seeking include encouragement of symptomatic persons to seek medical care more rapidly, reduction of social stigmas, and improved access to testing options.

show abstract

“…In Vietnam, curable STI are common among high-risk groups [ 15 ],[ 16 ] and not uncommon in the general population [ 17 ]. Misconceptions and low knowledge on STI among people in the community [ 18 ],[ 19 ] and HCPs [ 20 ], delays in women living in rural areas from seeking care for STI [ 21 ], and negative attitudes among HCPs towards STI patients [ 18 ], have been shown. Furthermore, previous studies demonstrate that people with STI may seek healthcare from different sources [ 18 ] and that HCPs at different levels have very low knowledge and inadequate practice regarding STI, and rarely participate in STI training [ 20 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Improved knowledge and reported practice regarding sexually transmitted infections among healthcare providers in rural Vietnam: a cluster randomised controlled educational intervention

et al. 2014

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

BackgroundHealthcare providers (HCPs) play a critical role in controlling the spread of sexually transmitted infections (STI) through early and accurate diagnosis, appropriate treatment and prevention counselling. This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of an educational intervention about STI on knowledge and reported practice among HCPs and to explore which determinants may influence the intervention’s effects.MethodsA cluster randomized controlled educational intervention was carried out in a rural district, Vietnam. 32 communes of the district were randomized into two arms, with 160 HCPs in an STI intervention arm and 144 in a control arm. The STI intervention comprised interactive training with basic STI knowledge, case scenarios, and poster distribution. Questionnaires to evaluate knowledge and reported practice were completed three times: before, during and after the intervention. Correct answer was scored as 1; “do not know”, incorrect answer was scored as 0. Univariate and multilevel multivariate analyses were applied.ResultsOf the maximum 56 points, the mean knowledge score increased significantly in the STI intervention arm and in the control arm post-intervention (37.2 to 48.4, and 32.7 to 41.7, respectively). In multivariate regression analysis, knowledge improvement in the intervention arm was significantly higher than that in the control arm (regression coefficient = 2.97, p = 0.008). Other factors which positively influenced the increase in knowledge were being between 35 and 50 years old, having intermediate professional training, being a pharmacist or working at a village level (regression coefficient: 2.81, 4.43, 5.53 and 7.91, respectively). Post-intervention, the mean reported practice score increased significantly in the STI intervention arm (from 17.6 to 21.8) and insignificantly in the control arm (maximum 36 points). Factors which positively influenced the increase in reported practice were being between 35 and 50 years old, having intermediate professional training, or working at a pharmacy/drugstore (regression coefficient: 2.15, 3.33 and 3.22, respectively).ConclusionsThis study indicates that an educational intervention including interactive training and multi-faceted interventions may be effective in improving STI knowledge and reported practice of HCPs at grassroots level, particularly among pharmacists, HCPs who work in villages or pharmacies/drugstores, and who initially have low STI knowledge.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12879-014-0646-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

show abstract

Healthcare-seeking behaviours for sexually transmitted infections among women attending the National Institute of Dermatology and Venereology in Vietnam

Abstract: Early healthcare-seeking behaviour for STIs could be facilitated through improving women's basic knowledge regarding STIs, changing their sexual behaviour and creating a social support environment for early care-seeking.

Cited by 21 publications

References 8 publications

<p>Delayed health care seeking is high among patients presenting with sexually transmitted infections in HIV hotspot areas, Gambella town, Ethiopia</p>

<p>Delayed health care seeking is high among patients presenting with sexually transmitted infections in HIV hotspot areas, Gambella town, Ethiopia</p>

Delay in Seeking Care for Sexually Transmitted Diseases in Young Men and Women Attending a Public STD Clinic

Improved knowledge and reported practice regarding sexually transmitted infections among healthcare providers in rural Vietnam: a cluster randomised controlled educational intervention

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About