Health-seeking behavior and its determinants among attendees of a tertiary care hospital in Visakhapatnam

Background: Health-seeking behavior is an important factor in health management, but this is often ignored while providing health facilities to people. The main aim of the study was to understand health-seeking behavior and to find out their perceptions of better healthcare delivery. Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among 400 attendees of a tertiary care hospital in Visakhapatnam by systematic random sampling from August to September 2021. The predesigned; pretested questionnaire was administered among them after obtaining their valid informed consent. Results: More than half of them were between 20-30 years age group and females, >3/4th were married, Hindus were dominating and belonged to socio-economic class IV and V. 83.25% of participants living in nuclear families.62% thought that they are having better health currently. 47.5% preferred government health facilities for their illness. Only 14.8% of the attendees visited the health facility immediately on the day of onset. Half of them used their personal funds/savings for treatment. More than 1/4th had health insurance to cover their health expenditure and their income was affected by sickness. Conclusion: It is essential to carry out health awareness measures to reduce disease burden and to reduce the time gap between the onset of symptoms and utilizing health care services