Title: A qualitative study of attitudes toward seeking psychological help among Chinese elderly patients with chronic diseases
Abstract:
Background: Older people with chronic illnesses have a high prevalence of mental health problems such as anxiety and depression, which require effective intervention and management. Yet the rate of mental health service visits for older adults with psychological problems is low, and this phenomenon is even more noticeable in China. Therefore, it is necessary to investigate the factors influencing the attitudes of Chinese elderly chronic disease patients seeking psychological help. Currently, most of the relevant studies are quantitative, which cannot deeply explore the formation mechanism of attitudes toward seeking psychological help among elderly patients with chronic diseases, and qualitative investigations are needed.
Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the current situation and influencing factors of attitudes toward psychological help-seeking among Chinese elderly patients with chronic diseases based on The Health Belief Model, in order to provide a reference for improving the attitudes toward psychological help-seeking among elderly patients with chronic diseases.
Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with elderly patients with chronic diseases using the maximum differentiated sampling method, and a total of 15 valid data were collected, and the texts were analyzed thematically using the content analysis method.
Results: A total of 3 themes and 11 sub-themes were categorized as (1) more negative attitudes toward help-seeking (self-help oriented; more informal psychological help; resistance to professional psychological help); (2) impediments to help-seeking attitudes (symptom normalization, stigma, lack of knowledge about help-seeking, and perceived risk of treatment); and (3) drivers of help-seeking attitudes (health beliefs, social support, history of exposure to people with mental illness).
Conclusion: Elderly patients with chronic illnesses tend to seek informal psychological help and have poor attitudes toward professional psychological help-seeking. In order to improve attitudes toward seeking psychological help and maintain the mental health of elderly patients with chronic diseases, primary health care units or communities can implement measures such as mental health education, improving social support, and reducing the stigma of mental illness in the future.
