Desai Vedant, Solanky Priti, Solanki Viren, Makwana Hemal, Raj Harshit, Patel Hetanshi M
Medical School, Gujarat Medical Education and Research Society (GMERS) Medical College and Hospital Valsad, Valsad, IND.
Preventive Medicine, Gujarat Medical Education and Research Society (GMERS) Medical College and Hospital Valsad, Valsad, IND.
Cureus. 2023 Jul 14;15(7):e41901. doi: 10.7759/cureus.41901. eCollection 2023 Jul.
Major depressive disorder (MDD) is one of the most common illnesses in the world and a major cause of years lived with disability. It is necessary to diagnose and treat depression promptly.
To identify and compare factors affecting health-seeking behavior in patients suffering from MDD.
An observational cross-sectional study was conducted. The study population was divided into two groups: early and late health seekers (cut off: three months). Patient Health Questionnaire - 9 (PHQ-9) as well as Perceived and Personal Depression Stigma Scores were calculated. Data were analyzed and the chi-square test and z-test were used to calculate statistical significance.
There were 102 participants. The majority were female (62.75%) and the maximum number of participants were from the age group of 26-45 years (65.69%). There were more early help seekers (61.76%) than late help seekers (38.24%). The majority of early help seekers were married individuals. Distance played a vital role in help-seeking behavior. A significant association was also found between participants' personal stigma and late treatment seeking. The most common reason for delaying medical attention was that patients thought that they could cure themselves, followed by a lack of awareness.
Delay and hesitance observed concerning health-seeking behavior are assumed to be associated with factors such as gender, income, family or marital status, stigma, lack of awareness, beliefs and practices, and deficient health facilities causing delays in the diagnosis and management of MDD. The research supported that involving primary health care centers, spreading awareness about the disease, and increasing psychiatric facilities, along with a special emphasis on factors as mentioned like gender, marital status, stigma, and feasibility of reaching facility as distance plays a major role in causing delay, and can help decrease the duration of symptom from the onset, initiating appropriate treatment, and improving prognosis.
重度抑郁症（MDD）是世界上最常见的疾病之一，也是导致残疾生存年数的主要原因。及时诊断和治疗抑郁症很有必要。
识别并比较影响MDD患者寻求医疗行为的因素。
进行了一项观察性横断面研究。研究人群分为两组：早期和晚期寻求医疗者（分界点：三个月）。计算患者健康问卷-9（PHQ-9）以及感知到的和个人的抑郁耻辱感得分。对数据进行分析，并使用卡方检验和z检验计算统计学显著性。
共有102名参与者。大多数为女性（62.75%），参与者人数最多的年龄组为26 - 45岁（65.69%）。早期寻求帮助者（61.76%）多于晚期寻求帮助者（38.24%）。大多数早期寻求帮助者为已婚人士。距离在寻求医疗行为中起着至关重要的作用。还发现参与者的个人耻辱感与延迟寻求治疗之间存在显著关联。延迟就医的最常见原因是患者认为自己可以自愈，其次是缺乏认识。
观察到的寻求医疗行为的延迟和犹豫被认为与性别、收入、家庭或婚姻状况、耻辱感、缺乏认识、信仰和习俗以及卫生设施不足等因素有关，这些因素导致了MDD诊断和管理的延迟。该研究支持，让初级卫生保健中心参与进来，传播对该疾病的认识，增加精神科设施，同时特别强调如性别、婚姻状况、耻辱感以及因距离在导致延迟方面起主要作用而到达医疗机构的可行性等因素，有助于缩短症状出现后的持续时间，启动适当治疗并改善预后。
