An account of the healthcare-seeking behavior of the public in response to a healthcare emergency (coronavirus disease 2019): The Saudi community experience

BACKGROUND: Health-seeking behavior is crucial to healthcare delivery by driving the individual’s healthcare utilization patterns and subsequent health outcomes. Examination of health-seeking behavior reveals gaps and inequalities in access to healthcare and detects the barriers to healthcare utilization. Our aim in this article was to assess the effect of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on the public’s healthcare-seeking behavior in Saudi Arabia and any changes in the use of the healthcare services, factors that drove this change, and the resulting health-related consequences for individuals. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This Nation-wide cross-sectional study was conducted among general population in Saudi Arabia between November 2021 and May 2022. Data were collected through an online, self-administered questionnaire; 4254 participants were recruited from all five main administrative regions in Saudi Arabia through the key social media platforms. Categorical variables were presented as frequencies and percentages, while mean and standard deviation were calculated for age. Chi-square test was used to determine association between region of residence in Saudi Arabia and change in seeking healthcare services and the change in disease symptoms during the pandemic. RESULTS: About half (53%) of participants reported a change in their use of healthcare services, with the fear of COVID-19 infection being the major change-driving-factor (21.4%). Medical appointments were rescheduled for 50.1% of participants, 8.5% experienced a delay in receiving a diagnosis of their medical condition, 8.6% reported worsening of their disease symptoms as a consequence of the delay, and 13.5% reported restricted access to medications. To enhance healthcare provision during any possible future pandemics or public health emergencies, 19.7% of respondents wanted less waiting time to access healthcare services with strict adherence to precautionary (19.7%) and infection control measures (17.6%). CONCLUSION: Our data showed that because of the pandemic, over half of respondents changed their healthcare-seeking behavior with fear of COVID-19 infection being a major driver of this change.