• Wei Wang, Fei Wang, Ying Peng, Kui Liu, Xinyi Chen, Chengliang Chai, Xiaomeng Wang, and Bin Chen.
• Department of Tuberculosis Control and Prevention, Zhejiang Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Hangzhou 310051, People's Republic of China.
• Patient Prefer Adher. 2020 Jan 1; 14: 1173-1183.

BackgroundThe health-seeking preference of people with a cough >2 weeks had not been extensively researched in southeast China. The study aimed to explore factors associated with health-seeking preference, which could provide more evidence to improve individuals' appropriate health-seeking behavior.Materials And MethodsFrom October 2018 to December 2018, this cross-sectional study was conducted in Zhejiang, China. A questionnaire was used to collect information on sociodemographic characteristics, knowledge of tuberculosis (TB), and health-seeking preference. The chi-square test and multivariable logistic regression were performed to evaluate factors associated with health-seeking preference.ResultsOf the 7174 participants, 3321 (46.3%) were men, 6148 (85.7%) were married, and 6013 (83.8%) knew about TB. Appropriate health-seeking preference was reported by 6229 (86.8%) participants. Respondents knowing about TB were more likely to seek appropriate care than those did not (89.6% vs 72.4%, p<0.001). Of the 6013 participants knowing about TB, respondents with higher scores on five key items of TB knowledge were more likely to get appropriate health-seeking preference. About 805 (96.6%) participants with 5 scores on TB knowledge had appropriate care preference. Only 97 (72.4%) participants with a score of 0 reported an appropriate preference. Multivariable logistic regression showed residence, marital status, education level, occupation, and awareness of TB knowledge were predictors of appropriate health-seeking preference. Compared to participants with a score of 0 on five TB key knowledge, participants with a score of 5 were 8.57 times more likely to have appropriate health-seeking preference (95% confidence interval [CI]: 4.97-14.78), followed by a score of 4 (odds ratio [OR]=5.99, 95% CI, 3.23-8.03); 3 (OR=3.74, 95% CI, 2.44-5.74); 2 (OR=1.99, 95% CI, 1.30-3.02) and 1 (OR=1.17, 95% CI, 0.76-1.80).ConclusionParticipants with little knowledge of TB had a low level of appropriate health-seeking preference. Appropriate health-seeking preference of the participants improved with increased key knowledge level of TB.© 2020 Wang et al.

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