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Factors Influencing Care-seeking Behavior Among Chinese Older Persons with
Knee Osteoarthritis

X. Xie 1

1
Faculty of Nursing, Chiang Mai University, Thailand

Background: Through early care-seeking behavior, elderly can understand the beginning symptoms,
distinguish knee osteoarthritis, acquire appropriate healthcare services to handle knee osteoarthritis
condition and improve health outcomes. However, tolerate or delay care-seeking behavior until knee
osteoarthritis starts interfering daily life could induce elderly missing the therapeutic window of
opportunity and losing the appropriate diagnosis and cause exacerbation.

Objective: This study aimed to identify the factors influencing care-seeking behavior among Chinese
older persons with knee osteoarthritis.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional study. A probability stratified random sampling used to select
239 older persons with knee osteoarthritis in three communities in China. Data were collected using
a demographic data form, the General Help Seeking Questionnaire, Duke Social Support Index, the
Pathak-Wieten Stoicism Ideology Scale, the Expectations Regarding Aging short-form scale and Knee
injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Pearson’s
correlation test, and multiple regression analysis.

Results: Health knowledge, social support, stoicism, expectation regarding aging, severity of pain and
health insurance could together predict care-seeking behavior, accounting for 25% of the variance.

Conclusion: These findings help determine approaches for health providers promote interventions
Oral Presentation Abstracts
that include enhancing health knowledge education and social supports, coping with stoic attitude,
expectations regarding aging and severity of pain. It also shed light on police maker to improve health
insurance among older persons.

Keywords: Chinese, older persons, knee osteoarthritis, care-seeking behavior, health knowledge,
social supports, stoicism, expectation regarding aging, severity of pain, health insurance

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Correspondence: XiaoJie Xie, Faculty of Nursing, Chiang Mai University, Thailand
E-mail: xiaojie_xi@cmu.ac.th

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