Abstract
INTRODUCTION: Most patients have explicit needs and expectations prior to seeking healthcare services. In order to meet their expectations for healthcare, they tend to utilise various channels or means to obtain required information and knowledge on the disease and its treatments before seeing a doctor. Hence, the objective of this paper is to explore factors affecting the ability to perceive the need for care among the middle-income (M40) population.
METHODS: This is a qualitative study using an in-depth exploratory interview approach. The purposive sampling method was employed until data saturation. Interviews were conducted virtually from October to November 2020, among Malaysian adults aged 25 years old and above in the M40 population with household income from MYR 4,851 till MYR 10,970, who utilised health services over the past 2 years. The recruited participants were either the head of household or wife of the head of household. Interviews were transcribed verbatim, and thematic analysis was performed using Nvivo 12 guided by Levesque 's Conceptual Framework of Access to Healthcare focusing on a specific dimension of ability to perceive the need for care, which is determined by health literacy, knowledge about health, and health belief.
RESULTS: Equal proportions were recorded for male and female participants among 78 Malaysians over 25 years of age. Of those interviewed, more than half worked for the private sector, close to a third were self-employed, while the others were classified as others. Most participants had tertiary education backgrounds. Perception of needs and desire for care relied on participants ' ability to perceive their need for care. Participants had basic knowledge about their own health as well as healthcare facilities or services available. They obtained additional knowledge from various sources, the internet, family, peers, and personal experience. They had access, and the ability to understand and appraise the information received, such as information regarding illness symptoms, treatment needed, and the severity of the illness. In addition, some participants also had their own beliefs related to health and ways to overcome their illness such as self-medication and consuming supplements for general well-being. DISCUSSION: This study revealed participants have knowledge about health, health literacy, and health beliefs. However, miscommunications and misinformation still exist. Hence, it's crucial for healthcare practitioners to be trained in delivering the needed information to the clients in a manner that would enhance their acceptance and understanding of their disease and treatment.
Links
- https://apcph.cphm.my/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/APCPH2022-P-55.pdf
- https://apcph.cphm.my/wp-content/uploads/wpforms/1176-1e04940bb5d885bf8711ed1909[...]
BibTeX (Download)
@proceedings{APCPH2022-P-55,
title = {Healthcare service needs among the M40 population in Malaysia: what do they perceive?},
author = {Noor Hasidah Ab Rahman and Yea Lu Tay and Mohammad Zabri Johari and Norrafizah Jaafar and Zalilah Abdullah},
url = {https://apcph.cphm.my/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/APCPH2022-P-55.pdf
https://apcph.cphm.my/wp-content/uploads/wpforms/1176-1e04940bb5d885bf8711ed19095a89ed/Poster-APCPH-Healthcare-service-needs-among-the-M40-population-i-4ad976757094b22b80bed06c56f4884a.pdf},
year = {2022},
date = {2022-08-02},
urldate = {2022-08-02},
issue = {7},
abstract = {INTRODUCTION: Most patients have explicit needs and expectations prior to seeking healthcare services. In order to meet their expectations for healthcare, they tend to utilise various channels or means to obtain required information and knowledge on the disease and its treatments before seeing a doctor. Hence, the objective of this paper is to explore factors affecting the ability to perceive the need for care among the middle-income (M40) population.
METHODS: This is a qualitative study using an in-depth exploratory interview approach. The purposive sampling method was employed until data saturation. Interviews were conducted virtually from October to November 2020, among Malaysian adults aged 25 years old and above in the M40 population with household income from MYR 4,851 till MYR 10,970, who utilised health services over the past 2 years. The recruited participants were either the head of household or wife of the head of household. Interviews were transcribed verbatim, and thematic analysis was performed using Nvivo 12 guided by Levesque 's Conceptual Framework of Access to Healthcare focusing on a specific dimension of ability to perceive the need for care, which is determined by health literacy, knowledge about health, and health belief.
RESULTS: Equal proportions were recorded for male and female participants among 78 Malaysians over 25 years of age. Of those interviewed, more than half worked for the private sector, close to a third were self-employed, while the others were classified as others. Most participants had tertiary education backgrounds. Perception of needs and desire for care relied on participants ' ability to perceive their need for care. Participants had basic knowledge about their own health as well as healthcare facilities or services available. They obtained additional knowledge from various sources, the internet, family, peers, and personal experience. They had access, and the ability to understand and appraise the information received, such as information regarding illness symptoms, treatment needed, and the severity of the illness. In addition, some participants also had their own beliefs related to health and ways to overcome their illness such as self-medication and consuming supplements for general well-being. DISCUSSION: This study revealed participants have knowledge about health, health literacy, and health beliefs. However, miscommunications and misinformation still exist. Hence, it's crucial for healthcare practitioners to be trained in delivering the needed information to the clients in a manner that would enhance their acceptance and understanding of their disease and treatment.},
howpublished = {published online at https://apcph.cphm.my},
note = {Type: POSTER PRESENTATION; Organisation: Institute for Health Systems Research, National Institutes of Health, Ministry of Health Malaysia; Institute for Health Behavioral Research, National Institutes of Health, Ministry of Health Malaysia},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {proceedings}
}