Guddu Getachew Abebe, Getahun Ayantu, Yadesa Girma, Tolossa Tadesse
Disease Prevention and Control Core Process Coordinator, Horro Guduru Wollega Zonal Health Office, Shambu, Ethiopia.
Department of Public Health, Institutes of Health Sciences, Wallaga University, Nekemte, Ethiopia.
Front Reprod Health. 2024 Jul 8;6:1348262. doi: 10.3389/frph.2024.1348262. eCollection 2024.
Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are the most prevalent communicable diseases that impact people's health and wellbeing. One of the main obstacles to successful prevention and control of STIs is the delay in seeking healthcare, which can result in significant personal and economic losses. However, there are limited studies on the delay in healthcare seeking among STI patients in resource-limited countries such as Ethiopia.
This study aims to assess delays in seeking healthcare and associated factors among patients presenting with STIs at public health facilities in the Horo Guduru Wollega Zone, Oromia, Western Ethiopia, 2022.
A cross-sectional study was conducted at public health facilities in the Horo Guduru Wollega Zone from 15 March to 15 May 2022. The study included 507 participants and used a consecutive sampling method. The outcome variable of the study was the delay in seeking healthcare among STI patients. A binary logistic regression model was used to identify candidate variables with a -value of less than 0.25 after analyzing each variable separately. Finally, a multivariable analysis was performed to determine statistically significant variables at a -value of less than 0.05, and an adjusted odds ratio (AOR) was reported.
The proportion of individuals with STIs who delayed seeking healthcare in the Horo Guduru Wollega Zone was 61.3% [95% confidence interval (CI): 57%-65.5%]. Factors such as age >35 years (AOR = 2.23, 95% CI: 1.26-3.95), higher educational level (AOR = 2.72, 95% CI: 1.55-4.74), lack of condom use (AOR = 1.63, 95% CI: 1.05-2.55), and travel time to health facilities of >1 h (AOR = 4.30, 95% CI: 1.70-10.89) were found to be significantly associated with delayed healthcare seeking.
This study found that the magnitude of delay in seeking healthcare was higher than the national average and identified several contributing factors. Interventions such as developing educational programs and improving access to healthcare services are crucial for supporting patients with STIs. Enhancing healthcare accessibility in rural areas and promoting the use of condoms through targeted community outreach can reduce travel time and prevent delays in seeking healthcare for STIs.
性传播感染（STIs）是影响人们健康和福祉的最普遍的传染病。成功预防和控制性传播感染的主要障碍之一是就医延迟，这可能导致重大的个人和经济损失。然而，在埃塞俄比亚等资源有限的国家，关于性传播感染患者就医延迟的研究有限。
本研究旨在评估2022年埃塞俄比亚西部奥罗米亚州霍罗古杜鲁沃莱加地区公共卫生设施中，性传播感染患者的就医延迟情况及相关因素。
2022年3月15日至5月15日在霍罗古杜鲁沃莱加地区的公共卫生设施开展了一项横断面研究。该研究纳入507名参与者，并采用连续抽样方法。研究的结果变量是性传播感染患者的就医延迟情况。在分别分析每个变量后，使用二元逻辑回归模型识别P值小于0.25的候选变量。最后，进行多变量分析以确定P值小于0.05的具有统计学意义的变量，并报告调整后的优势比（AOR）。
霍罗古杜鲁沃莱加地区性传播感染患者中就医延迟的比例为61.3%[95%置信区间（CI）：57%-65.5%]。年龄>35岁（AOR = 2.23，95% CI：1.26-3.95）、教育水平较高（AOR = 2.72，95% CI：1.55-4.74）、未使用避孕套（AOR = 1.63，95% CI：1.05-2.55）以及前往卫生设施的时间>1小时（AOR = 4.30，95% CI：1.70-10.89）等因素被发现与就医延迟显著相关。
本研究发现就医延迟的程度高于全国平均水平，并确定了几个促成因素。开展教育项目和改善医疗服务可及性等干预措施对于支持性传播感染患者至关重要。通过有针对性的社区宣传提高农村地区的医疗可及性并促进避孕套的使用，可以减少前往就医的时间并防止性传播感染患者就医延迟。
