Help-Seeking Behaviors of Turkish Patients Prior to Accessing a Psychiatric Polyclinic

Guner-Kucukkaya P., Unal S.

ARCHIVES OF PSYCHIATRIC NURSING, cilt.26, sa.2, ss.145-154, 2012 (SCI-Expanded) identifier identifier identifier

  • Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
  • Cilt numarası: 26 Sayı: 2
  • Basım Tarihi: 2012
  • Doi Numarası: 10.1016/j.apnu.2011.08.002
  • Dergi Adı: ARCHIVES OF PSYCHIATRIC NURSING
  • Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Scopus
  • Sayfa Sayıları: ss.145-154
  • Gazi Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

Despite the high prevalence of mental illness worldwide, people often do not receive adequate care and treatment. This study determined the help-seeking behaviors, prior to attending a psychiatric outpatient clinic, among Turkish patients (N = 225) with mental illness. Prior to attending the clinic, 29.3% of patients surveyed indicated they used self-implementation techniques, 17.78% consulted someone other than a physician, and 9.3% visited special healing sites other than hospitals. More than 50% used alternative therapies rather than conventional treatment. Mental health nurses must be aware of these health-seeking behaviors when planning individualized patient care and treatment. (C) 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.