Would Illness Representations of COVID-19 and COVID-19 Fears During Clinic Visits Promote or Reduce Behavioral Intention to Seek Medical Consultations for Flu Symptoms? A Random Telephone Survey in Hong Kong, China.
Front Public Health
; 10: 903290, 2022.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1911121
ABSTRACT
Background:
The study investigated the level of behavioral intention to consult doctors for flu symptoms (BICDFS) during the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and examined its associations with illness representations of COVID-19 and fear of COVID-19 during clinic visits in a general Chinese adult population.Methods:
A random telephone survey was conducted among 300 residents in Hong Kong, China in April 2020 when the second wave of COVID-19 was just ended in the region. The participants were asked about their intention to consult doctors if they had mild or severe flu symptoms in the next week (from 1 = definitely no to 5 = definitely yes). Illness representations of COVID-19 were measured by the Chinese version of the Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire (BIPQ). The fear of COVID-19 during clinic visits were assessed by two single items. Linear regression adjusted for background variables and hierarchical strategies were employed.Results:
Of the participants, 52.3 and 92.0% showed an intention to consult doctors for mild and severe flu symptoms, respectively. Adjusted for background factors, COVID-19-related cognitive representations (consequences standardized b = 0.15, p = 0.010; understanding standardized b = 0.21, p = 0.001) and emotional representations (concern standardized b = 0.17, p = 0.001; negative emotions standardized b = 0.19, p = 0.001) were positively associated with BICDFS. In the hierarchical model, independent significant factors of BICDFS included understanding (standardized b = 0.16, p = 0.013) and negative emotions (standardized b = 0.17, p = 0.008). The fear-related variables showed non-significant associations with the BICDFS.Conclusions:
Promotion of care-seeking behaviors for flu symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic should consider improving people's understanding of COVID-19 and providing advice on related coping strategies for emotional responses to COVID-19.Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Influenza, Human
/
COVID-19
Type of study:
Observational study
/
Randomized controlled trials
Limits:
Adult
/
Humans
Country/Region as subject:
Asia
Language:
English
Journal:
Front Public Health
Year:
2022
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Fpubh.2022.903290
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