ArticleBMC infectious diseases2016
Healthcare seeking behavior of patients with influenza like illness: comparison of the summer and winter influenza epidemics.
Article in BMC infectious diseases, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 17 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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17 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 33 citations in OpenAlex.
- Pooled it
- Spatiotemporal epidemiology of influenza in Fujian Province: an 18-year observational study.BMC infectious diseases · 2026Observational
- Suppression and resurgence: the evolving epidemiology of seasonal influenza from 2015 to 2024 in a core urban district of Beijing, China.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- Temporal association between influenza A and B positivity and fever-clinic visit burden in Shanghai, China, 2022-2025: a retrospective time-series study.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- The tale of two assumptions: incorporating healthcare-seeking behaviour in epidemic forecasting.BMC infectious diseases · 2025Article
- Integrating the Situational Theory of Problem Solving and Technology Acceptance Model to Predict Intention to Practice Health Protective Behavior for Influenza-Like Illness Among TikTok Users: Cross-Sectional Study.Journal of medical Internet research · 2025Article
- Respiratory Infections Are More Common Than Healthcare Records Indicate: Results From an Anonymous Survey.Military medicine · 2023Article
- Predictors of Seeking Care for Influenza-Like Illness in a Novel Digital Study.Open forum infectious diseases · 2023Article
- Care-seeking correlates of acute respiratory illness among sheltered adults experiencing homelessness in Seattle, WA, 2019: a community-based cross-sectional study.Frontiers in public health · 2023Article
- Impact of PMEnvironmental science and pollution research international · 2023Article
- Article
- Influenza A and B outbreaks differed in their associations with climate conditions in Shenzhen, China.International journal of biometeorology · 2022Article
- Article
- Observational
- A population-based study on healthcare-seeking behaviour of persons with symptoms of respiratory and gastrointestinal-related infections in Hong Kong.BMC public health · 2020Article
- [Flu-like disease in summer - what do we know about it?]MMW Fortschritte der Medizin · 2019Review
- Influenza-like illness in healthcare personnel at a paediatric referral hospital: Clinical picture and impact of the disease.Influenza and other respiratory viruses · 2018Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundInfluenza often causes winter and summer epidemics in subtropical regions, but few studies have investigated the difference in healthcare seeking behavior of patients with influenza-like illness (ILI) between these two epidemics.
methodsHousehold telephone surveys were conducted using random digit dialing in Hong Kong during July-August 2014 and March-April 2015. One adult from each household was interviewed for ILI symptoms and associated healthcare seeking behaviour of themselves and one child in the household (if any), during the preceding 30 days. Healthcare seeking behavior of respondents with self-reported ILI was compared between summer and winter influenza. Logistic regression was used to explore the factors associated with healthcare seeking behavior.
resultsAmong 516 and 539 adult respondents in the summer and winter surveys, 22.6 and 38.0 % reported ILI symptoms, and 40.9 and 46.8 % of them sought medical care, respectively. There was no significant difference in healthcare seeking behavior between the summer and winter epidemics, except a higher proportion of self-medication in summer in the adult respondents. Among 155 and 182 children reported by the adults in both surveys, the proportion of self-reported ILI was 32.9 and 40.1 % in the summer and winter surveys, respectively. Of these children, 47.1 and 56.2 % were brought for medical consultation in summer and winter, respectively. Women, adults with diabetes and those with symptoms of cough, shortness of breath, and runny nose were more likely to seek medical consultations for ILI symptoms. The factors associated with seeking medical consultations in children with ILI symptoms included being female, age under 10 years, and with symptoms of sore throat or vomiting. Those older than 60 years were less likely to self-medicate, whereas regular smokers and those with symptom of sore throat were more likely to do so.
conclusionHealthcare seeking behavior of the general public was not significantly different between these two epidemics. However ILI was associated with increased healthcare utilization in both winter and summer epidemics in Hong Kong.
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