Hierarchy of the main factors predicting the decision to go to the doctor in a general population sample
Objective: To obtain a hierarchy of the main factors that predict the decision to go to the doctor when symptoms are not yet linked to a specific disease. Method: 64 representative vignettes, combinations of nine factors, were presented to 168 adults between 28-60 years of age. Results: Multilevel m...
| Autores: | , , |
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| Tipo de recurso: | artículo |
| Fecha de publicación: | 2020 |
| País: | España |
| Institución: | Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona |
| Repositorio: | Dipòsit Digital de Documents de la UAB |
| Idioma: | inglés |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:ddd.uab.cat:288908 |
| Acceso en línea: | https://ddd.uab.cat/record/288908 https://dx.doi.org/urn:doi:10.1016/j.pec.2020.02.004 |
| Access Level: | acceso abierto |
| Palabra clave: | Going to the doctor Patient delay Time to presentation Factorial survey Multilevel design |
| Sumario: | Objective: To obtain a hierarchy of the main factors that predict the decision to go to the doctor when symptoms are not yet linked to a specific disease. Method: 64 representative vignettes, combinations of nine factors, were presented to 168 adults between 28-60 years of age. Results: Multilevel multiple regression models were used to rank the main factors predicting urgency to see a doctor in order of importance: the interference of symptoms in daily activities (B = -1.29; p < .001), fear (B = -0.96; p < .001), pain (B = -0.90; p < .001), access to medical care (B = -0.64; p < .001) and confidence in the doctor (B = -0.27; <.05). Moreover, gender (B = 0.56; p < .05) and educational level (B =-0.31; p < .05) explained part of the interindividual variation in the daily symptoms' interference. Conclusion: When a specific disease has not yet been diagnosed, daily symptoms' interference is the factor that most strongly increases the urgency to visit a doctor, especially among men and among people with a higher level of education. Practice implications: To reduce delay, generic health prevention campaigns should place more emphasis on possible interference in daily activities than on the meaning of symptoms for health. |
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