Relatives' advice and health care-seeking behaviour in Oman

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. 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

Silent epidemic of depression in women in the Middle East and North Africa region: emerging tribulation or fallacy?

As the world is being gripped by economic depression, international psychological epidemiologists have amassed evidence to suggest that psychological depression and its variants are becoming leading contributors to the global burden of disease with the Middle East and North Africa [MENA] region being no exception. The main aim of the present discourse, based on a review of the available literature, is to discuss critically whether women in the MENA region have a higher rate of psychological depression than those in other parts of the globe. From the present synthesis, it emerges that the rate of depression may not be necessarily unique to the region. Although no society has totally overcome the marginalisation and lack of empowerment of women, in order to come to grips to this complex issue more vigorously designed epidemiological studies, using taxonomies that are standardised for cross-cultural populations, are needed to quantify the psychological functioning of women

Impact of geographical proximity on health care seeking behaviour in northern Oman

Despite its impact on health policy, the relationship between geographical proximity and health care seeking has received scant attention in the medical literature. This paper aims to evaluate the relationship between geographic proximity and health care usage behaviour among patients seeking medical consultation in the northern region of Oman. During 2006- 2007, data was collected via face-to-face interviews among 428 randomized patients seeking medical consultation in various primary health care centres in the northern region of Oman. The association between geographical proximity as a reason to seek health care and other predictors was also analysed using multivariable logistic regression. The data suggest that preference for geographical proximity as a reason for seeking health care is strongly associated with marital status, previous exposure to traditional medicine and health education, as well as history of immunisation. This finding supports the view from elsewhere that geographical proximity remains a strong catalyst for care seeking in Oman. The psychosocial factors affecting care seeking are discussed