Dataset Information

Help-seeking behaviours among older adults: a scoping review protocol.

ABSTRACT:

Introduction

Despite evidence that illustrates the unmet healthcare needs of older adults, there is limited research examining their help-seeking behaviour, of which direct intervention can improve patient outcomes. Research in this area conducted with a focus on ethnic minority older adults is also needed, as their help-seeking behaviours may be influenced by various cultural factors. This scoping review aims to explore the global literature on the factors associated with help-seeking behaviours of older adults and how cultural values and backgrounds may impact ethnic minority older adults' help-seeking behaviours in different ways.

Methods and analysis

The scoping review process will be guided by the methodology framework of Arksey and O'Malley and the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis Protocols Extension for Scoping Reviews guidelines. The following electronic databases will be systematically searched from January 2005 onwards: MEDLINE/PubMed, Web of Science, PsycINFO, CINAHL and Scopus. Studies of various designs and methodologies consisting of older adults aged 65 years or older, who are exhibiting help-seeking behaviours for the purpose of remedying a physical or mental health challenge, will be considered for inclusion. Two reviewers will screen full texts and chart data. The results of this scoping review will be summarised quantitatively through numerical counts and qualitatively through a narrative synthesis.

Ethics and dissemination

As this is a scoping review of published literature, ethics approval is not required. Results will be disseminated through publication in a peer-reviewed journal.

Discussion

This scoping review will synthesise the current literature related to the help-seeking behaviours of older adults and ethnic minority older adults. It will identify current gaps in research and potential ways to move forward in developing or implementing strategies that support the various health needs of the diverse older adult population.

Registration

This scoping review protocol has been registered with the Open Science Framework (https://osf.io/69kmx).

SUBMITTER: Teo K

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7888354 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Help-seeking behaviours among older adults: a scoping review protocol.

Teo Kelly K Churchill Ryan R Riadi Indira I Kervin Lucy L Cosco Theodore T

BMJ open 20210216 2

<h4>Introduction</h4>Despite evidence that illustrates the unmet healthcare needs of older adults, there is limited research examining their help-seeking behaviour, of which direct intervention can improve patient outcomes. Research in this area conducted with a focus on ethnic minority older adults is also needed, as their help-seeking behaviours may be influenced by various cultural factors. This scoping review aims to explore the global literature on the factors associated with help-seeking b ...[more]

PMID: 33593783

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Project description:BackgroundAlthough early intervention is crucial in interrupting the development of eating disorders, little is currently known about help-seeking behaviours among individuals experiencing eating disorder symptoms. Given that eating disorders typically begin early in life, it is necessary to investigate the processes employed by children, adolescents, and emerging adults when seeking services for troubling symptoms. This is a growing concern as the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in an increase in the number of individuals engaging in disordered eating behaviours. This scoping review explores the current state of the literature for evidence on how youth with eating disorder symptoms seek help, with the aim of better understanding how to identify and treat more individuals earlier.MethodsUsing scoping review methodology, we searched seven databases for studies published from January 2000 to April 2021 that reported on help-seeking attitudes, behaviours, and healthcare utilization patterns for children and adolescents (< 18 years), emerging adults (18-25 years), and a mixture of these groups (< 25 years). Seven thousand, two hundred, and eighteen articles were identified for review. After duplicates were removed, three reviewers independently screened titles and abstracts and reviewed full-text articles. Findings related to help-seeking activity were extracted from the 62 articles that were ultimately included in this scoping review.ResultsStudy findings were summarized into help-seeking patterns (i.e., rates, types) as well as factors ranging from the individual level to society that influenced help-seeking behaviour. Many youth meeting eating disorder criteria were not seeking help. Notable barriers to help-seeking included poor mental health literacy, experiences with healthcare providers who failed to detect and lacked knowledge about eating disorders, minimal support from family and friends, and stigma surrounding eating disorders and help-seeking for mental health concerns.ConclusionsThe results of this scoping review can be used to inform early intervention and health promotion program development. Future research should focus on the help-seeking attitudes and activities among underrepresented groups with eating disorders (e.g., men, ethnic and gender minorities), the perspectives of family and other supporters in the help-seeking process for youth, and retrospective accounts from adults with lived experience of an eating disorder. Plain English summary Addressing and interrupting eating disorder-related thoughts and behaviours as soon as possible, with the help of a mental health professional, leads to better outcomes for youth struggling with an eating disorder. However, little is known about what prompts youth to talk about their weight, body, or eating concerns with someone-like their parent, friend, teacher, guidance counsellor, or primary care practitioner. This review explores the available published research on help-seeking patterns and preferences among youth with eating disorder concerns. Our team followed a standardized process to find 62 relevant articles for this paper. Of note, many young people who reported eating disorder concerns were not seeking help for themselves. Feeling supported by family and their primary care provider, understanding the signs of an eating disorder, and not feeling shame for reaching out for help reportedly led youth to speak up about their concerns. The findings have clinical implications for learning effective ways to help youth feel safe to speak freely about their eating disorder-related concerns, which enhances the chances of intervening early and catching symptoms before they worsen.

Project description:IntroductionAthletes are not immune to mental health issues but are less likely to seek help than non-athletes and experience barriers including lack of access to services, lack of knowledge as to how to access services and negative past experiences for help-seeking. Formal (eg, university counsellors, general practitioners and psychologists) and semi-formal (eg, academic tutor, sports coach and physiotherapist) sources of support provided in healthcare, the sport context and higher education are key places for athletes to seek help for mental health, and there is a need to synthesise the evidence on athletes' access, attitudes to and experiences of these services, to understand how to improve these services specific to athletes' mental health needs. This protocol outlines a scoping review that will be used to map the evidence, identify gaps in the literature and summarise findings on athletes' access, attitudes to and experiences of help-seeking for their mental health.Methods and analysisThe methodological frameworks of Arksey and O'Malley (2005), Levac et al (2010) and the Joanna Briggs Institute (2020 and 2021) were used to inform this scoping review protocol alongside the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic review and Meta-Analysis Protocols checklist and published scoping review protocols within sport and health. The six stages of Arksey and O'Malley's (2005) framework have been used for this scoping review. The searches were conducted between 30 March 2022 and 3 April 2022 in the following databases: APA PsycINFO (via OVID), Embase (via Ovid), MEDLINE (via Ovid), APA PsycArticles Full Text (via OVID), Web of Science Core Collection, SPORTDiscus (via EBSCO), CINAHL (via EBSCO), Scopus, ProQuest (Education Database), ProQuest (Education Collection), ProQuest (Health & Medical Collection), ProQuest (Nursing & Allied Health database), ProQuest (Psychology Database), ProQuest (Public Health Database) and ProQuest (Sports Medicine & Education). The main inclusion criteria of this review are: papers that focus on past help-seeking behaviour, attitudes towards help-seeking and future behavioural intentions, papers that refer to formal and semi-formal sources of support and peer-reviewed literature, primary research articles, systematic or scoping reviews and interventions. During title and abstract screening and full-text review, at least two reviewers will be involved. Data to be extracted from studies includes: details of the study population, whether the paper focuses on formal and/or semi-formal sources of support and whether the focus is on access, attitudes or experiences to help-seeking for mental health.Ethics and disseminationThe evidence will be mapped numerically and through content analysis to describe studies and highlight key concepts, themes and gaps in the literature. The published scoping review will be disseminated to relevant stakeholders and policymakers including those in healthcare, the sporting context and the higher education system. The resulting outputs will be in the form of both peer-reviewed and non-peer reviewed publications (eg, multimedia in the form of a blog post and at conferences). The dissemination plan will be informed by patient and public involvement. Ethics approval was not required for this study.

Project description:BackgroundThe stepped care model for psychological distress has been promoted in recent years, leading to the enhancing roles of primary care professionals and alternative sources of help. However, most of the research findings come from Western countries. This study investigates help-seeking behaviours of Chinese patients among different types of professional and alternative sources for psychological distress in Hong Kong.MethodsA questionnaire survey was conducted with 1626 adult primary care attenders from 13 private and 6 public clinics, 650 (40.0%) reported that they had ever experienced psychological distress. Their help-seeking behaviours, demographic background and current distress level (measured by GHQ-12) were analysed.ResultsAmong the respondents with experience of psychological distress, 48.2% had sought help from professional and/or alternative sources for their distress [10.2% from professionals only, 12.6% from alternative sources only, and 25.4% from both]. Those who had sought help from professionals only were more likely to be less educated and with lower income. In contrast, those using alternative sources only were more likely to be younger, better educated, and have higher income. Allowing multiple responses, psychiatrists (22.3%) was reported to be the most popular professional source, followed by primary care physicians (17.5%), clinical psychologists (12.8%) and social workers/counsellors (12.0%). Family members/friends (28.6%) was the top alternative source, followed by exercise/sports (21.8%), religious/spiritual support (16.9%) and self-help websites/books/pamphlets (8.9%).ConclusionWhile psychiatrists remain the most popular professional source of help to the Chinese patients in Hong Kong, primary care professionals and alternative sources also play significant roles. Distressed patients who are younger, better educated and have higher income are more likely to use alternative sources only. The outcomes need further research.

Project description:BackgroundUnderstanding mild behavioral impairment, a relatively recent notion in neuropsychological studies, provides significant insights into early behavioral indicators of cognitive decline and predicts the onset of dementia in older adults. Although the importance of understanding mild behavioral impairment is acknowledged, comprehensive reviews of its correlates with older adults are limited.ObjectiveThis scoping review aims to identify the impact of mild behavioral impairment on health outcomes in older adults and the factors associated with mild behavioral impairment.MethodsThe review will adhere to the Joanna Briggs Institute's methodological principles for scoping reviews. We will include studies focusing mainly on mild behavioral impairment in older adults, with the literature on this topic being limited to the period from 2003 to the present. Other clinical diagnoses, such as cognitive impairment, Parkinson disease, and multiple sclerosis, will not be included. We will use databases including PubMed (MEDLINE), CINAHL, Web of Science, Embase, PsycINFO, Cochrane, and Scopus for relevant articles published in English. Both gray literature and peer-reviewed articles will be considered during screening. Three independent reviewers will extract data using a predefined data extraction tool. Extracted data will be presented using tables, figures, and a narrative summary aligned with review questions, accompanied by an analysis of study characteristics and categorization of mild behavioral impairment correlates.ResultsThe results will be presented as a descriptive summary, structured according to the associated factors related to mild behavioral impairment, and the health outcomes. Additionally, the data on study characteristics will be presented in tabular format. An exploratory search was conducted in July 2023 to establish a comprehensive search strategy, and iterative refinements to the scoping review protocol and formalization of methods were completed. A follow-up search is planned for May 2024, with the aim of submitting the findings for publication in peer-reviewed journals.ConclusionsTo our knowledge, this would be the first study to map the literature on the health-related factors and outcomes of mild behavioral impairment. The findings will support the development of interventions to prevent the occurrence of mild behavioral impairment and mitigate the negative outcomes of mild behavioral impairment.International registered report identifier (irrid)DERR1-10.2196/60009.

Dataset Information

Help-seeking behaviours among older adults: a scoping review protocol.

Introduction

Methods and analysis

Ethics and dissemination

Discussion

Registration

Publications

Help-seeking behaviours among older adults: a scoping review protocol.

Similar Datasets

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