“It’s not easy to acknowledge that I’m ill”: a qualitative investigation into the health seeking behavior of rural Palestinian women

Abstract

BackgroundThis qualitative study sets to fill a gap in knowledge by exploring the health seeking behaviour of rural women living in the occupied Palestinian territories (oPt). The existing literature on the oPt has so far focused on unravelling the country’s epidemiological and health system profile, but has largely neglected the assessment of factors shaping people’s decisions on health care use.MethodsBased on a conceptual framework rooted in the Anderson behavioural model, we conducted 30 semi-structured interviews with purposely selected women and seven key informant interviews in three purposely selected villages in Ramallah district.ResultsOur findings indicate that women delay seeking professional care, use self-prescribed medications and home treatment, and do not use preventive and educational health services. Their health seeking behaviour is the result of the interplay of several factors: their gendered socio-cultural role; their health beliefs; financial affordability and geographical accessibility; their perceptions of the quality of care; and their perceived health needs.ConclusionsFindings are discussed in the light of their policy implications, suggesting that adequate health policy planning ought to take into considerations socio-cultural dimensions beyond those directly pertinent to the health care system.

Breast health awareness in an Arabic culture: A qualitative exploration

“…Many women and nurses in this study viewed health as the absence of symptoms; they frequently postponed seeking medical assistance and used self-prescribed medicine or alternative medicine. This response has also been found in other countries including Pakistan, UAE and Palestine (Anwar, Green, Norris, & Bukhari, 2015;Elobaid et al, 2016;Majaj, Nassar, & De Allegri, 2013). The GPs participating in this study also confirmed that women with BC often presented at the advanced stage of the disease when they experienced severe pain or found large breast lumps that could not be managed at home.…”

Delays in Diagnosis and Treatment of Breast Cancer and the Pathways of Care: A Mixed Methods Study from a Tertiary Cancer Centre in North East India

“…Social obligations, family responsibilities and burden of work were common barriers that influenced decision to seek care. It is well known that women prioritize other matters and neglect their own health (Bonsu and Ncama, 2019;Majaj et al, 2013).This is similar in case of women with breast cancer as well where parenting and other family and social issues influence their health seeking behaviour (Bonsu and Ncama, 2019;Moodleyet al, 2016;Vanderpool et al, 2013).…”

Occupational Physicians’ Perspectives on Determinants of Employee Participation in a Randomized Controlled Musculoskeletal Health Promotion Measure: A Qualitative Study

“…The model has been widely used for understanding and structuring results about access to and utilization of health services [ 15 ]. Modified versions have been adopted in qualitative studies to assess healthcare utilization from stakeholder perspectives other than actual users, e.g., relatives, caregivers [ 16 , 17 , 18 ], medical staff, service providers, and key informants [ 19 , 20 , 21 ]. For instance, a qualitative study similar to the present one investigated medication adherence in patients with rheumatoid arthritis by interviewing rheumatologists, and mapped discovered determinants into Andersen’s model [ 22 ].…”