Department of Family Medicine and Primary Care, The University of Hong Kong, 3/F, Ap Lei Chau Clinic, 161 Main Street, Ap Lei Chau, Hong Kong, China.
Department of Family Medicine and Primary Care, The University of Hong Kong, 3/F, Ap Lei Chau Clinic, 161 Main Street, Ap Lei Chau, Hong Kong, China.
Psychiatry Res. 2018 Jun;264:9-14. doi: 10.1016/j.psychres.2018.03.056. Epub 2018 Mar 24.
This study investigated enablers to seeking professional help for psychological distress among Chinese primary care attenders in Hong Kong. Nine focus groups and six individual interviews were conducted among adult patients with/without known distress, significant others of the distressed, and the general public. The identified potential enablers were further investigated in a questionnaire survey with data from 1626 patients. Survey respondents who had sought professional help for distress (n = 231) and those without this experience (n = 1395) showed similar attitudes to the enabler items. However, the first group had more "strongly agree" responses and their top five enablers were: crisis caused by distress, distress affecting daily life, wanting to treat associated physical symptoms, having trust in doctor, and encouragement by family/friends to seek help. Qualitative interviews found that the patients often somatised distress and they felt comfortable to consult for somatic symptoms. There was strong family involvement in help-seeking whereas the doctors were the authoritative figures to convince the patients for treatment. The findings, in line with Western literature, indicate that crisis and interference in daily life due to distress are the top enablers to seeking professional help. The other three key enablers are likely to be influenced by Chinese culture.
本研究旨在探讨香港基层医疗就诊者寻求专业心理困扰帮助的促进因素。研究采用焦点小组访谈和个人访谈的方法，共对 9 个成人患者焦点小组（包括有/无已知困扰的患者、困扰患者的重要他人和普通公众）和 6 名个体进行了访谈。确定的潜在促进因素进一步通过问卷调查进行了调查，共 1626 名患者参与了调查。有过因心理困扰寻求专业帮助经历（n=231）和没有过这种经历的调查对象（n=1395）对促进因素持相似的态度。然而，前者对促进因素的“非常同意”的比例更高，其前五个促进因素分别为：困扰引起的危机、困扰影响日常生活、希望治疗相关的躯体症状、对医生的信任和家人/朋友鼓励寻求帮助。定性访谈发现，患者经常躯体化困扰，他们对躯体症状的咨询感到舒适。家庭在寻求帮助方面发挥了很大的作用，而医生则是说服患者进行治疗的权威人物。这些发现与西方文献一致，表明困扰引起的危机和日常生活干扰是寻求专业帮助的首要促进因素。其他三个关键促进因素可能受到中国文化的影响。
