Patterns and Associated Factors in Health Service Utilization Among High School Students in Turkey

Cigdem Apaydin Kaya, Beyza İrem Birinci, Emine Erçil Malcık, Ahmet Hamdi Akgündüz, Ayceren Taşan, İrem Gelgeç, Nuran Özkan

Keywords: Adolescents, primary health care centers, health care utilization, mental health

Background:

It is crucial for adolescents to benefit from health services, especially primary health care services to promote health and prevent diseases.

Research questions:

What is the health care utilization patterns of high school-aged adolescents?

Method:

This descriptive study took place in Istanbul, February 2024. The research population consisted of students attending a high school. Efforts were made to include the entire population in the study. A survey was conducted to the students via Google Forms, including their sociodemographic characteristics, diseases, medications, nutrition and exercise habits, risky behaviors, two-question depression screening questions, and the frequency and reasons for using health services. Data were analyzed using chi-square and One-Way ANOVA, p<0.05 was considered statistically significant.

Results:

675 people with a mean age of 15.84±1.33 participated in the study. 13.03% of them had a chronic disease and 27.70% were on regular medication. In the last year 96.44% of the participants had sought services from a health institution (private hospital 40.89%; public hospital 40.74%, family health centers 38.67%, emergency services 19.11%, training and research hospital 17.63%). Those with low income were more likely to visit public hospitals than those without (p=0.041). The most common reasons for applying to a health institution are cough (43.85%), sore throat (40.44%) and runny nose (39.70%). The participants first consult their families about their health problems (65.92%), then internet (13,63%) and a physician (13.03%). The individuals at risk of depression reported that they use the internet more frequently for health problems and more likely to share their thoughts with their families compared to those not at risk (14.4%,6.7%; p=0.016;60.9%,50.8%;p=0.042).

Conclusions:

Our research indicates that high school students primarily utilize health services for acute issues and tend to use hospitals instead of primary health care centers for health issues. However, there is a significant demand for counseling on preventive services, particularly for mental health concerns.

Points for discussion:

Are there any study investigate the adolescents' health care utilization patterns in your country?

What do you think about high school students primarily utilize health services for acute issues and tend to use hospitals instead of primary health care centers for health issues although preventive health care needs?

#76