Research Article: Health-seeking behavior among hematuria patients in Jordan: the case of the Health Belief Model
Abstract:
Despite broad application of the Health Belief Model (HBM) across a range of clinical contexts, its relevance to patients actively presenting with hematuria remains unexplored. Hematuria may stem from minor self-resolving causes or serious malignancies requiring early intervention. This study aimed to characterize health-seeking behavior in this population and to determine which clinical and belief-based factors predict whether patients pursue medical evaluation.
We conducted a cross-sectional study on 150 patients presented with hematuria, enrolled by convenience sampling from a single tertiary-care urology center. Participants completed a self-administered Arabic questionnaire comprising the Champion Revised Health Belief Model Scale and a sociodemographic instrument. Binary logistic regression was used to identify independent predictors of care-seeking. Health-seeking behavior was analyzed in 125 of the 150 enrolled patients; 25 participants were excluded because hematuria was detected solely on urinalysis without personal symptom awareness.
Macroscopic hematuria accounted for 68% of cases and was more common among males (74.5%) and those older than 70?years (85%). Overall, 91% of participants sought or were actively seeking medical care. Among clinical and belief-based variables tested, only hematuria type reached marginal statistical significance: macroscopic presentation was associated with a 2.7-fold higher likelihood of care-seeking relative to microscopic (OR?=?2.66, 95% CI 1.00–7.08, p =?0.049). This finding should be interpreted with caution given the marginal p -value and a confidence interval whose lower bound is at 1.0. No HBM construct—including perceived susceptibility, severity, benefits, barriers, confidence, or health motivation—independently predicted this outcome.
When a symptom is as visually striking as gross hematuria, the decision to seek care appeared to be driven primarily by symptom visibility rather than belief-based constructs, though causal inferences cannot be drawn from this cross-sectional, single-center study. The model’s six constructs did not independently predict care-seeking once hematuria type was considered, suggesting limited additive utility in this context; however, replication in larger and more diverse samples is needed before broader conclusions about HBM applicability are drawn. Importantly, patients with microscopic hematuria—whose condition is no less clinically serious—were less likely to seek care, pointing to a gap that warrants direct attention in future public health planning.
Introduction:
Despite broad application of the Health Belief Model (HBM) across a range of clinical contexts, its relevance to patients actively presenting with hematuria remains unexplored. Hematuria may stem from minor self-resolving causes or serious malignancies requiring early intervention. This study aimed to characterize health-seeking behavior in this population and to determine which clinical and belief-based factors predict whether patients pursue medical evaluation.
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