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BackgroundHealth-seeking behavior (HSB) is a choice taken by an individual to maintain, achieve, or restore good health and prevent diseases. The purpose of this study is to examine the determinants of HSB among the Iraqi population.MethodsThis cross-sectional study in the Rusafa and Karkh districts of Baghdad investigated determinants of HSB from 2022 to 2023. With a sample size of 993 participants meeting inclusion criteria, data were collected through a self-reported questionnaire, utilizing four indicators to measure HSB. The study employed various statistical methods especially logistic regression models, facilitated by Stata 17 software.ResultsResults highlights that married individuals consistently have higher odds of having HSB compared to their single counterparts, with an odds ratio (OR) of 2.09 (95% confidence interval: 1.41–3.10). This relationship remains robust even after controlling for other variables. Furthermore, individuals with higher social class exhibit stronger connections to HSB, although the OR is 1.69 (95% CI: 0.47–6.13), indicating a wide confidence interval. Regarding underlying diseases and their duration, the results indicate that chronic diseases are associated with a higher likelihood of HSB, with an OR of 2.05 (95% CI: 1.35–3.11). Additionally, a longer duration of diseases in terms of years is also linked to a stronger association with HSB, with an OR of 2.86 (95% CI: 1.32–6.23).ConclusionIn conclusion, this work provides important insights into HSB. Married people are continuously more likely to engage in HSB than single people, highlighting the importance of customized interventions. Furthermore, persons from higher social classes have stronger ties to HSB, highlighting the importance of socioeconomic considerations. The link between HSB and chronic diseases, combined with longer disease durations, emphasizes the importance of early detection and thorough healthcare management. These findings give critical guidance for healthcare providers, marketers, and politicians developing effective initiatives to promote HSB.

Background: Planning for health care services provision depends on the morbidity profile, health-seeking behavior (HSB), and its predictors. Thus, this study aimed to identify the level of self-reported morbidity, HSB and its predictors. Patients and Methods: A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted among the geriatric (≥ 60 years) population in West Shoa Zone. A multi-stage systematic sampling technique was employed to select the study participants. After testing for collinearity, variables with p-value < 0.25 on binary logistic regression were entered into backward multivariate logistic regression analysis with statistical significance at p-value < 0.05. Results: With a response rate of 98%, 779 study participants were recruited. The median (IQR) age of the respondents was 70 (70– 78) years. Five hundred eighty-four (3/4) of the study participants reported that they experienced morbidity at least once in the year before interview. Of 584 study participants, 53.9% had poor HSB. Living in village (p-value = 0.034), being housewife (p-value = 0.048), wealth index [being rich (p-value = 0.033), being in moderate economic status (p-value= 0.001), and being poor (p-value= 0.049) relative to richest], being head of polygamous household (p-value= 0.019), non-smoker (P-value = 0.012), not having community-based health insurance coverage (CBHI) (p-value< 0.0001), having ≤ 3 times number of illness (p-value < 0.0001), self-medication (p-value < 0.0001), not having hypertension (p-value=0.016), not having diabetes mellitus (DM) (p-value=0.012), and not having oro-dental problem (p-value= 0.043) were positively associated with poor HSB. Nevertheless, self-perceived mild severity of illness (p-value= < 0.0001), good health status (p-value= 0.001), and not having musculoskeletal problem (p-value< 0.0001) were negatively associated with poor HSB. Conclusion: There was a high prevalence of self-reported morbidity and poor HSB. There should be an effort to improve the HSB and CBHI utilization of the geriatric population by all stakeholders. Moreover, modifiable predictors of HSB needs to be improved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]