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Submitted
April 10, 2025
Accepted
June 29, 2025
Published
June 30, 2025
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Abstract

Background: Health-seeking behavior encompasses individuals’ actions when facing health issues and can be influenced by various factors, such as socioeconomic status, cultural beliefs, and healthcare accessibility. Understanding these behaviors is crucial for improving health outcomes and ensuring effective healthcare utilization.


Methods: A cross-sectional study design was used to collect data on healthcare-seeking behaviors of young adults in Accra. A semi-structured questionnaire was administered to 330 participants using both convenience and simple random sampling.


Results: Majority of respondents reported their health status as good. However, despite generally positive self-assessments, 48.5% of respondents reported being ill in the past three months, with about 50% diagnosing themselves. Using binary logistic regression, the study found that higher social status increased the likelihood of reported illness (OR = 2.47, p = 0.001), whereas self-employment significantly reduced illness risk (OR = 0.27, p = 0.008).


Conclusion: Barriers identified with regard to seeking healthcare included lack of education, time constraints, and distance. Raising awareness of the importance of timely healthcare seeking and improving access to healthcare services across communities in Accra may help address these challenges.

Keywords

Healthcare-seeking behavior Healthcare access Barriers to healthcare Young adults

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Copyright (c) 2025 Sydney Stanley Blankson

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Author Biography

Sydney Stanley Blankson, Metropolitan Diagnostics Centre, Ghana

Sydney Stanley Blankson serves as the Centre Manager at Metropolitan Diagnostics Centre and holds a Master of Philosophy degree in Public Health. He has a strong interest in the intersection of environmental and public health, focusing on how environmental factors influence human well-being. His professional experience combines health service management with research interests in environmental health challenges and public health interventions.

 

How to Cite
Blankson, S. S. (2025). Health Seeking Behaviour of Young Adults in Accra, Ghana. Pan-African Journal of Health and Environmental Science, 4(1), 143–159. https://doi.org/10.56893/ajhes2025v04i01.09
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