Help-seeking behavior following gastrointestinal complaints by gender among outpatients attending gastroenterology clinics in 4 hospitals in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
| Variable, n (%) | Female | Male | Total | P-value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First intervention | ||||
| Medications | 85 (63.0) | 210 (69.3) | 295 (67.4) | 0.291 |
| Endoscopy | 25 (18.5) | 44 (14.5) | 69 (15.8) | |
| Islamic incantation | 8 (5.9) | 10 (3.3) | 18 (4.1) | |
| Herbs | 2 (1.5) | 13 (4.3) | 15 (3.4) | |
| Surgery | 2 (1.5) | 4 (1.3) | 6 (1.4) | |
| Others | 13 (9.6) | 22 (7.3) | 35 (8.0) | |
| First place to seek advice | ||||
| Government hospital | 37 (27.4) | 62 (20.5) | 99 (22.7) | 0.194 |
| Private hospital | 43 (31.9) | 106 (35.1) | 149 (34.1) | |
| Government clinic | 15 (11.1) | 42 (13.9) | 57 (13.0) | |
| Private clinic | 36 (26.7) | 75 (24.8) | 111 (25.4) | |
| Quran therapist | 3 (2.2) | 3 (1.0) | 6 (1.4) | |
| Traditional healer | 0 (0.0) | 1 (0.3) | 1 (0.2) | |
| Others | 1 (0.7) | 13 (4.3) | 14 (3.2) | |
| Previous places sought | ||||
| None | 31 (23.0) | 87 (28.7) | 118 (26.9) | 0.455 |
| Single | 65 (48.1) | 136 (44.9) | 201 (45.9) | |
| Multiple | 39 (28.9) | 80 (26.4) | 119 (27.2) | |
| Previous places sought | ||||
| Governmental hospital | 55 (40.7) | 118 (38.9) | 173 (39.5) | 0.722 |
| Private hospital | 48 (35.6) | 127 (41.9) | 175 (40.0) | 0.210 |
| Governmental clinic | 15 (11.1) | 32 (10.6) | 47 (10.7) | 0.864 |
| Private clinic | 31 (23.0) | 41 (13.5) | 72 (16.4) | 0.014* |
| Quran therapist | 15 (11.1) | 14 (4.6) | 29 (6.6) | 0.012* |
| Traditional healer | 5 (3.7) | 11 (3.6) | 16 (3.7) | 1.000 |
| Number of previous places sought, mean±SD | ||||
| Governmental hospital | 2.4±7.0 | 1.6±4.3 | 1.8±5.3 | 0.193 |
| Private hospital | 1.4±3.1 | 1.8±3.0 | 1.7±3.0 | 0.155 |
| Governmental clinic | 0.3±0.9 | 0.4±1.7 | 0.4±1.5 | 0.830 |
| Private clinic | 1.0±2.1 | 0.6±2.1 | 0.7±2.1 | 0.040* |
| Quran therapist | 0.5±1.6 | 0.2±0.7 | 0.3±1.1 | 0.011* |
| Traditional healer | 0.1±0.5 | 0.1±0.3 | 0.1±0.3 | 0.980 |
| Factors of current hospital choice | ||||
| Hospital reputation | 58 (43.3) | 164 (54.1) | 222 (50.8) | 0.037* |
| Health insurance | 33 (24.6) | 73 (24.1) | 106 (24.3) | 0.904 |
| Positive experience | 33 (24.6) | 53 (17.5) | 86 (19.7) | 0.084 |
| Relative hospital staff | 17 (12.7) | 27 (8.9) | 44 (10.1) | 0.226 |
| Others | 18 (14.1) | 38 (13.1) | 56 (13.4) | 0.801 |
| Satisfaction with overall services | ||||
| Totally satisfied | 65 (48.1) | 101 (33.3) | 166 (37.9) | 0.009* |
| Somewhat satisfied | 41 (30.4) | 109 (36.0) | 150 (34.2) | |
| Not sure | 21 (15.6) | 81 (26.7) | 102 (23.3) | |
| Upset | 7 (5.2) | 11 (3.6) | 18 (4.1) | |
| Very upset | 1 (0.7) | 1 (0.3) | 2 (0.5) | |
| Overall non-reimbursed cost of diagnosis and treatment | ||||
| Negligible | 87 (72.5) | 158 (58.1) | 245 (62.5) | 0.040* |
| < 5,000 | 12 (10.0) | 46 (16.9) | 58 (14.8) | |
| 5,000-9,000 | 8 (6.7) | 34 (12.5) | 42 (10.7) | |
| >= 10,000 | 13 (10.8) | 34 (12.5) | 47 (12.0) |
↵* Significant gender-specific differences with p<0.05. Please note that all percentages are calculated based on available non-missing valid data