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BACKGROUND: Corona Virus Disease (COVID-19) has long-term sequels that persisted for months to years and manifested with a spectrum of signs and symptoms. Presentations of long COVID-19 symptoms are heterogeneous, vary from person to person, and can reach up to over 200 symptoms. Limited studies are conducted on the awareness of long COVID-19. So, this study aimed to explore the awareness about and care seeking for long COVID-19 symptoms among COVID survivors in Bahir Dar City in 2022. METHODS: A qualitative study with a phenomenological design was used. Participants of the study were individuals who survived five months or longer after they tested positive for COVID-19 in Bahir Dar city. Individuals were selected purposively. An in-depth interview guide was prepared and used to collect the data. Open Cod 4.03 software was used for coding and synthesizing. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the transcripts. RESULTS: The themes emerged from the data were awareness, experience of symptoms and their effects, and care practices of long COVID-19. Although only one participant mentioned the common symptoms of long COVID-19 the survivors experienced general, respiratory, cardiac, digestive, neurological, and other symptoms. These symptoms include rash, fatigue fever, cough, palpitations, shortness of breath, chest pain, and abdominal pain, loss of concentration, loss of smell, sleep disorder, depression, joint and muscle pain. These symptoms brought various physical and psychosocial effects. The majority of the respondents described that long COVID-19 symptoms will go off by themselves. To alleviate the problems some of the participants had taken different measures including medical care, homemade remedies, spiritual solutions, and lifestyle modification. CONCLUSIONS: The result of this study revealed that participants have a significant deficit of awareness about the common symptoms, risk groups, and communicability of Long COVID. However, they experienced the majority of the common symptoms of Long COVID. To alleviate the problems, they had taken different measures including medical care, homemade remedies, spiritual solutions, and lifestyle modification.
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COVID-19 , Post-Acute COVID-19 Syndrome , Humans , Ethiopia , COVID-19/epidemiology , COVID-19/therapy , Behavior Therapy , CoughABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Despite increasing evidence on COVID-19, few studies have been conducted in humanitarian settings and none have investigated the direct and indirect effects of the pandemic in the Central African Republic. We studied the COVID-19 epidemiology, health service utilization, and health care seeking behavior in the first year of the pandemic in Bangui and surrounding areas. METHODS: This mixed-methods study encompasses four components: descriptive epidemiological analysis of reported COVID-19 cases data; interrupted time series analysis of health service utilization using routine health service data; qualitative analysis of health care workers' perceptions of how health services were affected; and health care seeking behavior of community members with a household survey and focus group discussions. RESULTS: The COVID-19 epidemiology in CAR aligns with that of most other countries with males representing most of the tested people and positive cases. Testing capacity was mainly concentrated in Bangui and skewed towards symptomatic cases, travelers, and certain professions. Test positivity was high, and many cases went undiagnosed. Decreases in outpatient department consultations, consultations for respiratory tract infections, and antenatal care were found in most study districts. Cumulative differences in districts ranged from - 46,000 outpatient department consultations in Begoua to + 7000 in Bangui 3; - 9337 respiratory tract infections consultations in Begoua to + 301 in Bangui 1; and from - 2895 antenatal care consultations in Bimbo to + 702 in Bangui 2. Consultations for suspected malaria showed mixed results while delivery of BCG vaccine doses increased. Fewer community members reported seeking care at the beginning of the pandemic compared to summer 2021, especially in urban areas. The fear of testing positive and complying with related restrictions were the main obstacles to seeking care. CONCLUSIONS: A large underestimation of infections and decreased health care utilization characterized the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic in Bangui and surrounding area. Improved decentralized testing capacity and enhanced efforts to maintain health service utilization will be crucial for future epidemics. A better understanding of health care access is needed, which will require strengthening the national health information system to ensure reliable and complete data. Further research on how public health measures interact with security constraints is needed.
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Background: The most important way to prevent COVID-19 is to observe health behaviors such as keeping social distance from one another. After getting COVID-19, care-seeking behaviors can affect the severity of the disease. The current study aimed to investigate and compare the communication styles, care-seeking, and health behaviors in patients with COVID-19. Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed using a self-administered questionnaire on patients with COVID-19 in Maragheh in 2020. The study population included 450 people selected using simple random sampling. Chi-square, one-way ANOVA, and Pearson Product Moment Correlation tests were used to compare communication styles, care-seeking, and health behaviors among outpatients and inpatients with COVID-19. Data were analyzed using SPSS 23 software. Results: The first place to seek treatment for outpatients and inpatients with COVID-19 was health centers (28.2%) and hospitals (44.5%), respectively. In terms of communication behaviors, close contact of family members with others at work, getting the disease from close friends or colleagues (45.8%), and having a history of contact with an infected COVID-19 person (43.5%) were the most reported items by outpatients. On the other hand, hospitalized cases reported close contact of family members with others at work (62.4%), attending physicians' offices (43.8%), and attending gatherings (41.2%) more than other communication behaviors (P<0.0001). Conclusion: Care-seeking behavior is more appropriate among outpatients than inpatients, and preventive behaviors are more stable in outpatients than inpatients. Therefore, health education interventions in the community should focus on correcting care-seeking behaviors and promoting good social communications. © 2023 Authors. All rights reserved.
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Background: Lockdowns due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic forced many dental offices to be closed. This study aims to investigate the association between COVID-19 imposed lockdowns and online searches for toothache using Google Trends (GT). Methods: We investigated GT online searches for the term "toothache" within the past 5 years. The time frame for data gathering was considered as the initiation and end dates of national/regional lockdowns in each country. We used 1-way analysis of variance to identify statistical differences in relative search volumes (RSVs) between 2020 and 2016-2019 for each country. Results: Overall, 16 countries were included in our analyses. Among all countries, Indonesia (n = 100), Jamaica (n = 56), Philippines (n = 56), Iran (n = 52), and Turkey (47) had the highest RSVs for toothache in the specified period. Compared with the previous 4 years, higher RSVs were seen in the world (as a whole) (2020 RSVs, 94.4; vs 2019 RSVs, 77.8 [ P < 0.001]) and 13 countries (81.3% of the included countries). Conclusion: Generally, searching for the term "toothache" showed an increase during the COVID-19 lockdowns in 2020 compared with the past 4 years. This can imply the importance of dental care as urgent medical care during public health emergencies such as COVID-19.
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Delaying or avoiding medical treatment is a common and possibly dangerous consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic. Certain demographic, medical or social groups were found reporting higher rates of avoiding medical care. Patients should be specifically targeted in advertising and interactions that encourage people to return to their previous behavior concerning their health maintenance. Technology advances, especially telemedicine, should be implemented widely to overcome pandemic fears and provide a new platform for treating patients in this complex era. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)
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The final sample included n = 138 respondents who participated in the anonymous online survey called 'Sacramento Community Attitudes Toward Seeking Mental Health Services.' Participants were adult residents located near the UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento, California. For approximately a decade, few studies have investigated community mental health in this area. The present research examined important factors which contribute to help-seeking attitudes among those with potentially mild to moderate symptoms of anxiety and/or depression. Furthermore, the study was launched in July 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic, when prevalence rates of anxiety and depression were estimated to have doubled (Schafer et al., 2022). The study built on previous research by Surapaneni et al. (2019) which called for better understanding of how level of distress and other variables may interact with self-stigma to predict help-seeking attitudes and behavior. The construct of self-stigma represents internalized negative views and anticipated fears of being labeled as someone who sought help for an emotional or psychological concern. Multiple linear regression was used to determine the significance of ten predictor variables, including age, gender, racial/ethnic minority or majority status, anxiety symptoms (GAD-7), depressive symptoms (PHQ-9), self-stigma of seeking help (SSOSH;Vogel et al., 2006), and four factors related to cultural and ethnic experience from the Scale of Ethnic Experience (SEE;Malcarne et al., 2006). The criterion or outcome variable was attitude toward seeking mental health services, as measured by the IASMHS (Mackenzie et al., 2004). The final model was statistically significant and accounted for 37% of the variance in the dependent variable, F(1, 124) = 7.39, p <.001. Three significant predictors were self-stigma (SSOSH), 'perceived discrimination' and 'social affiliation' (SEE). Results indicated important themes to emphasize in public health messaging or community outreach programs to support linkage to treatment services, or to strengthen the therapeutic alliance during initial clinical sessions. This study aimed to increase public 'mental health literacy,' which includes knowledge to recognize symptoms and understand when to seek help, and awareness of attitudes which are common barriers to initiating treatment. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)
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Purpose. The purpose of this qualitative study is to explore the experiences of African Americans who sought treatment for COVID-19. This study highlighted the relationships and treatment between healthcare providers and African Americans. Methodology. This qualitative study used a narrative research design. A total of 10 interviewees were selected based on a set criterion developed by the researcher. Selected participants were evaluated for COVID-19 by a certified healthcare organization. The participants who were diagnosed with COVID-19 received a treatment option. Data collection followed the steps outlined by Creswell and Guetterman (2019). The guidelines established by Shenton (2004) were followed to ensure credibility. Finding. (a) The lack of patient and provider relationships: Participants expressed that earlier generations had personal relationships with their providers and now feel that practice is lost in today's healthcare system. (b) Biases in treatment options based on race: Participants expressed that their skin color was factored into the type of treatment offered by medical personnel. (c) Trustworthiness of the healthcare system: Participants perceived that the trustworthiness of healthcare is one of the most important factors to provide equity in medical care for African Americans. Conclusions. The findings of this study suggested that there are still significant challenges that African Americans face with equality in care and trustworthiness in the healthcare system. Many of the participants cited a generational shift in how the healthcare system is practiced in terms of patient-provider relationships. Recommendations. Further research could be done to explore the idea of implicit bias training in terms of healthcare workplace culture and leadership solutions. Also, further exploration is needed on how historical trauma is passed down through the generations of African Americans. It is also recommended to explore how levels of service are affected in different types of healthcare organizations (i.e., medical, vision, and dentistry) that serve marginalized groups of people when impact bias is factored in during care. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)
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Purpose: The COVID-19 pandemic interrupted dental care for individuals due to dental practice closures beginning in March 2020. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships between fear or stress related to COVID-19, dental anxiety and attending dental visits among adults in the United States (US).Methods: A cross-sectional survey research design was used with a non-probability sample of adults residing in the US. Three validated scales, the COVID-19 Stress Scale (CSS), Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FCV-19S) and Modified Dental Anxiety Scale (MDAS), were used for the electronically delivered survey instrument. A crowdsourcing platform was used to recruit participants over the age of 18, residing in the US. Descriptive, correlation, and multiple regression tests were used for data analysis.Results: A total of 308 participants opened the survey with a 97% completion rate (n=299). Time since the last dental visit was positively correlated with all measurement scale scores (p<0.01). Males had statistically significant higher scores on the CSS traumatic stress (p=0.002) and checking (p=0.001) sub-scales. Participants with bachelor and master's degrees had significantly higher scores across FCV-19S and CSS subscales.Conclusion: Individuals with dental anxiety were more likely to exhibit higher levels of fear and anxiety about COVID-19 transmission, resulting in delays in seeking dental care. Dental professionals should address patient concerns about the safety of dental settings and the infection control measures in place to prevent the transmission of COVID-19 in dental settings. Public health entities and professional organizations need to promote messaging about the measures in place to deliver safe oral health care.
Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Fear , Patient Acceptance of Health Care , Stress, Psychological , Adult , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Anxiety , Cross-Sectional Studies , Pandemics , SARS-CoV-2 , Surveys and Questionnaires , Dental AnxietyABSTRACT
The final sample included n = 138 respondents who participated in the anonymous online survey called 'Sacramento Community Attitudes Toward Seeking Mental Health Services.' Participants were adult residents located near the UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento, California. For approximately a decade, few studies have investigated community mental health in this area. The present research examined important factors which contribute to help-seeking attitudes among those with potentially mild to moderate symptoms of anxiety and/or depression. Furthermore, the study was launched in July 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic, when prevalence rates of anxiety and depression were estimated to have doubled (Schafer et al., 2022). The study built on previous research by Surapaneni et al. (2019) which called for better understanding of how level of distress and other variables may interact with self-stigma to predict help-seeking attitudes and behavior. The construct of self-stigma represents internalized negative views and anticipated fears of being labeled as someone who sought help for an emotional or psychological concern. Multiple linear regression was used to determine the significance of ten predictor variables, including age, gender, racial/ethnic minority or majority status, anxiety symptoms (GAD-7), depressive symptoms (PHQ-9), self-stigma of seeking help (SSOSH;Vogel et al., 2006), and four factors related to cultural and ethnic experience from the Scale of Ethnic Experience (SEE;Malcarne et al., 2006). The criterion or outcome variable was attitude toward seeking mental health services, as measured by the IASMHS (Mackenzie et al., 2004). The final model was statistically significant and accounted for 37% of the variance in the dependent variable, F(1, 124) = 7.39, p <.001. Three significant predictors were self-stigma (SSOSH), 'perceived discrimination' and 'social affiliation' (SEE). Results indicated important themes to emphasize in public health messaging or community outreach programs to support linkage to treatment services, or to strengthen the therapeutic alliance during initial clinical sessions. This study aimed to increase public 'mental health literacy,' which includes knowledge to recognize symptoms and understand when to seek help, and awareness of attitudes which are common barriers to initiating treatment. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)
ABSTRACT
Delaying or avoiding medical treatment is a common and possibly dangerous consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic. Certain demographic, medical or social groups were found reporting higher rates of avoiding medical care. Patients should be specifically targeted in advertising and interactions that encourage people to return to their previous behavior concerning their health maintenance. Technology advances, especially telemedicine, should be implemented widely to overcome pandemic fears and provide a new platform for treating patients in this complex era. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)
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Introduction: Viral hepatitis remains a public health concern worldwide, mainly in developing countries. The public's awareness and interest in viral hepatitis information are essential in preventing and controlling this disease. Infodemiology has been used as a surrogate to assess the general understanding of disease and measure public awareness of health topics. However, this analysis has not been applied to viral hepatitis. Thus, this study investigated the online global search interest for viral hepatitis in the last decade, focusing on the period before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: Global online search interest for hepatitis was measured using the Google Trends™ database. Spearman's rank-order correlation correlated country-specific characteristics and prevalence data with search volume index. Results: There was a significant reduction in online search interest for hepatitis during the COVID-19 pandemic (2020). People searching for hepatitis are also interested in hepatitis vaccination. Search volume index is positively correlated with viral hepatitis and HIV prevalence and negatively correlated with GDP. This correlation mirrors the high burden of viral hepatitis in developing countries and their citizens' desire to be informed about this disease. Conclusions: Our study found decreased global online interest in viral hepatitis during the pandemic. Moreover, higher online interest in hepatitis was observed in countries with a lower gross domestic product and high viral hepatitis and HIV prevalence. We demonstrated that global online interest toward viral hepatitis could be assessed through the infodemiologic approach using Google Trends™.
Subject(s)
COVID-19 , HIV Infections , Hepatitis, Viral, Human , HIV Infections/epidemiology , Hepatitis, Viral, Human/epidemiology , Hepatitis, Viral, Human/prevention & control , Humans , Infodemiology , Information Seeking Behavior , PandemicsABSTRACT
Background: Self-negligence, societal neglect, and lack of access to adequate health care make domestic workers vulnerable to ill-health. COVID-19 has adversely affected the work prospects of people across social classes and their health care-seeking opportunities as well. We studied the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on work prospects and health care-seeking behavior of a vulnerable section of the society - the women domestic workers. Methods: A longitudinal analysis on 292 randomly selected women domestic workers residing in slums of "Kalikapur" locality of Kolkata city, West Bengal (India). Data were collected using a predesigned and pretested schedule twice: in early-2020 (before severe impact of COVID-19) and mid-2020 (during the pandemic ravaging India). Paired t-test and McNemar's test were used to check for significant changes. Result: Of all the participants, 57.2% lost jobs partially while 2.7% were completely jobless in mid-2020; the average daily work-hour decreased by 25.7%. Their average monthly pay significantly reduced (P < 0.05); mean family income in mid-2020 was lesser as well, compared to earlier (P < 0.05). Compared to early-2020, 15.8% more participants were sole bread-winners for their families during COVID-19. Number of participants visiting health practitioners significantly reduced (P < 0.05) in mid-2020. Rise in over-the-counter medicine use (P < 0.05) and increased tendency to ignore symptoms (P < 0.05) during COVID-19 was noted. Conclusion: The COVID-19 pandemic has affected work prospects and health care-seeking behavior of women domestic workers negatively. Most of them faced wage reduction, many becoming sole-earners for their families. This necessitates continued formulation and implementation of strategies ensuring social benefits including healthcare. Awareness about affordable healthcare and ill-effects of bad practices like self-medication should also be built.
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American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) persons have been identified as a group with greater risk for transgenerational trauma;furthermore, they experience environmental, systemic, and pragmatic barriers to treatment for mental and social issues. Researchers have called for more studies of groups like AI/AN to better understand the complex social, interpersonal, and intrapersonal problems involved in accessing and using mental health services. The purpose of this study was to examine the predictive relationships of demographics, transgenerational trauma, locus of control, and stigma on help-seeking and use of mental health services in the AI/AN population in a quantitative study. The developmentally based trauma framework was chosen as the conceptual framework and theory of planned behavior was chosen as the theoretical framework for this study. A correlational survey research design using a quota sampling strategy was employed. The predictors included demographics, transgenerational trauma, stigma, and locus of control. The criterion variables included attitude towards help-seeking, intention to seek help, and use of mental health services. A hierarchical multiple linear regression analysis plan was implemented. Findings were nonsignificant for all predictors except the measure of transgenerational trauma. Limitations regarding the challenges of working with the AI/AN population and conducting survey research during extraordinary external circumstances (the COVID-19 pandemic) are discussed. Although the findings were non-significant, the results point to research methods that are innovative and culturally relevant to support better response rates and integrate with positive social change for vulnerable populations like AI/AN. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)
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The history of African Americans within the United States is one that is deeply complex. Historical trauma both directly and/or vicariously experienced has fostered a sense of cultural mistrust amongst African Americans that have since become transgenerational and resulted in rigid attitudes, beliefs, and opinions for many. Due to these experiences, African Americans continue to be a race that is underrepresented in mental health services and treatment though they experience symptomology at the same rate as their White counterparts. The purpose of this study was to examine African Americans help seeking behaviors and levels of cultural mistrust amidst a global pandemic and heightened sociopolitical tensions across the United States. Two hundred twenty participants completed an online survey that assessed their attitudes toward seeking professional psychological help and their level of culture of mistrust. Linear regression analyses were used to analyze the data and it was founded that the older the participant, the higher levels of cultural mistrust they possessed. Additionally, participants who endorsed past and/or current therapy experiences had more favorable attitudes towards receiving treatment. Though demographic variables were held constant throughout the analysis of this study, both participant stigma and educational attainment were found to have a relationship with participants attitudes toward seeking help and cultural mistrust levels. The significance of this study was to highlight the ongoing need for the advancement of mental health services within African American communities and is one of the first to examine this phenomenon during a pandemic. Limitations, recommendations, and clinical and training implications are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)
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This reprinted chapter originally appeared in Journal of Gerontological Social Work, 2020, 63[6-7], 728-731. (The following of the original article appeared in record 2021-00510-035.) With the low level of mHealth (a variant of telehealth) usage in Ghana a sustained decline in healthcare utilization among non-COVID-19 patients could be more disastrous than the COVID-19 pandemic itself. It is therefore imperative for new policies to encourage older people in need of non-COVID-19 care to seek healthcare under supervised conditions to avert another catastrophic scenario especially in the face of the limited operationalization of telehealth services in Ghana. In line with this, the following measures must be taken to promote non-COVID-19 care in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic (particularly among older people). (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)
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AIMS: The aim of this study was to examine how the Norwegian general adult population was affected by non-pharmaceutical interventions during the first six weeks of the COVID-19 lockdown. We assessed quarantine, symptoms, social distancing, home office/school, work status, social contact and health-care contact through digital access and knowledge. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was performed of 29,535 adults (aged 18-99) in Norway after six weeks of non-pharmaceutical interventions in March/April 2020. RESULTS: Most participants found the non-pharmaceutical interventions to be manageable, with 20% of all adults and 30% of those aged <30 regarding them as acceptable only to some or a limited degree. Sixteen per cent had been quarantined, 6% had experienced symptoms that could be linked to COVID-19 and 84% practiced social distancing. Eleven per cent reported changes in the use of health and social services. Three-quarters (75%) of those who had mental health or physiotherapy sessions at least monthly before the pandemic reported a reduction in their use of these services. A substantial reduction was also seen for home nursing, hospital services and dentists compared to usage before the non-pharmaceutical interventions. Immigrants were more likely to experience a reduction in follow-up from psychologists and physiotherapy. With regard to the use of general practitioners, the proportions reporting an increase and a reduction were relatively equal. CONCLUSIONS: The non-pharmaceutical interventions were perceived as manageable by the majority of the adult general population in Norway at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. A substantial proportion of adults <30 years old experienced difficulties with social distancing, and those >70 years old lacked the digital tools and knowledge. Further, immigrant access to health services needs monitoring and future attention.
Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Adult , Aged , Communicable Disease Control , Cross-Sectional Studies , Humans , Norway/epidemiology , Pandemics , SARS-CoV-2ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Survey studies have found that vaccinated persons tend to report more side effects after being given information about side effects rather than benefits. However, the impact of high media attention about vaccine-related side effects on the utilization of health care is unknown. We aimed to assess whether utilization of health care services for newly vaccinated health care workers changed after media attention about fatal side effects of the AstraZeneca vaccine on March 11th, 2021, and whether changes differed by age, sex, or occupation. METHODS: We utilized individual-level data on health care use, vaccination, employment, and demographics available in the Norwegian emergency preparedness register Beredt C19. In all 99,899 health care workers in Norway who were vaccinated with AstraZeneca between February 11th and March 11th, we used an event-study design with a matched comparison group to compare the change in primary and inpatient specialist care use from 14 days before to 14 days after the information shock on March 11th, 2021. RESULTS: Primary health care use increased with 8.2 daily consultations per 1000 health care workers (95% CI 7.51 to 8.89) the week following March 11th for those vaccinated with AstraZeneca (n = 99,899), compared with no increase for the unvaccinated comparison group (n = 186,885). Utilization of inpatient care also increased with 0.8 daily hospitalizations per 1000 health care workers (95% CI 0.37 to 1.23) in week two after March 11th. The sharpest increase in daily primary health care use in the first week after March 11th was found for women aged 18-44 (10.6 consultations per 1000, 95% CI 9.52 to 11.68) and for cleaners working in the health care sector (9.8 consultations per 1000, 95% CI 3.41 to 16.19). CONCLUSIONS: Health care use was higher after the media reports of a few cases of fatal or severe side effects of the AstraZeneca vaccine. Our results suggest that the reports did not only lead vaccinated individuals to contact primary health care more, but also that physicians referred and treated more cases to specialist care after the new information.
Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Vaccines , Attention , Delivery of Health Care , Female , Humans , VaccinationABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Internet hospitals show great potential for adequately fulfilling people's demands for high-quality outpatient services, and with the normalization of the epidemic prevention and control of COVID-19, internet hospitals play an increasingly important role in delivering health services to the public. However, the factors that influence patients' intention to use the online inquiry services provided by internet hospitals remain unclear. Understanding the patients' behavioral intention is necessary to support the development of internet hospitals in China and promote patients' intention to use online inquiry services provided by internet hospitals during the prevention and control of the COVID-19 epidemic. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study is to identify the determinants of patients' intention to use the online inquiry services provided by internet hospitals based on the theory of planned behavior (TPB). METHODS: The hypotheses of our research model were developed based on the TPB. A questionnaire was developed through patient interviews, verified using a presurvey, and used for data collection for this study. The cluster sampling technique was used to include respondents with chronic diseases. Structural equation modeling was used to test the research hypotheses. RESULTS: A total of 638 valid responses were received from patients with chronic diseases. The goodness-of-fit indexes corroborated that the research model was a good fit for the collected data. The model explained 45.9% of the variance in attitude toward the behavior and 60.5% of the variance in behavioral intention. Perceived behavioral control and perceived severity of disease had the strongest total effects on behavioral intention (ß=.624, P=.004 and ß=.544, P=.003, respectively). Moreover, perceived convenience, perceived information risk, emotional preference, and health consciousness had indirect effects on behavioral intention, and these effects were mediated by attitude toward the behavior. Among the four constructs, perceived convenience had the highest indirect effect on behavioral intention (ß=.207; P=.001). CONCLUSIONS: Perceived behavioral control and perceived severity of disease are the most important determinants of patients' intention to use the online inquiry services provided by internet hospitals. Therefore, internet hospitals should further optimize the design of online service delivery and ensure a reasonable assembly of high-quality experts, which will benefit the promotion of patients' adoption intention toward online inquiry services for health purposes. Perceived convenience, emotional preference, and perceived risks also have effects on behavioral intention. Therefore, the relevant quality control standards and regulations for internet hospitals should be further developed and improved, and the measures to protect personal information should be strengthened to ensure the patient safety. Our study supports the use of the TPB in explaining patients' intention to use online inquiry services provided by internet hospitals.