Healthcare-seeking of medical students: the effect of socio-demographic factors, health risk behaviour and health status – a cross-sectional study in Hungary

doi:10.21203/rs.3.rs-2442554/v1

Background

Medical students are more likely to have various physical and psychological issues, but less information is available about the healthcare-seeking behaviour for physical and mental health issues. The aim of this study is to determine the factors affecting medical students' healthcare-seeking when visiting a general practitioner (GP) and/or psychologist.

Methods

688 medical students (326 International and 362 Hungarian,) participated in a cross-sectional study. The information was gathered using a self-administered online questionnaire and covered socio-demographic background, health behaviour, general and mental health status and healthcare-seeking. For analysing adjusted associations, multivariable logistic regression models were used.

Results

Overall, 56.8% of medical students visit the GP; and 17.2%, the psychologist. Hungarian medical students visited the GP with chronic diseases, International medical students were more likely to visit a GP when they encountered sexual activity and had chronic diseases. Moreover, there was a significant correlation between sex, alcohol consumption, and perceived stress in the total sample of psychologist visits. When Hungarian medical students were in their clinical years and had a poor self-rated mental health, they were more likely to visit a psychologist. Whereas female international medical students and those who had poor self-rated mental health were more likely to seek psychological help.

Conclusion

Students visit a GP and/or psychologist for a variety of reasons, including socio-demographic background, risky health behaviours, and health issues. Medical schools should encourage help-seeking behaviours and early disclosure of medical students. Their ability to grasp healthcare attitudes and designing treatments will be important for both their academic success and future profession.

healthcare-seeking

medical students

general practitioner

psychologist

The absence of seeking out physical or mental health care among medical students is acknowledged as an increasing prevalent issue by the literature [1, 2]. In general, medical students are reluctant to seek out treatment and a convenience for informal support from the family and colleagues [3, 4]. A high prevalence of mental health illnesses, lack of or delay in obtaining health care, self-diagnosis, self-prescribing and dangerous behaviours have all been observed among qualified doctors [5]. Medical students retrieve attitudes and values from professional role models, and they could also adopt behavioural traits that encourage them to get informal care for physical and mental health issues [3].

In a survey conducted at a British medical school, it has been discovered that 43% of the students had unofficially contacted a doctor who was a friend or family member, 9.2% had initiated their own investigations, and 25% had been examined by a colleague [6]. Additionally, 90% of the respondents in North American questionnaire-based research conducted in nine medical schools have reported a need for medical attention while in training. Two-thirds of them has received informal care from colleagues and half requested that a fellow student do a physical examination [7]. College students in China were found to be more reliant on seeking out online health information (OHI), just 32.4% followed up with doctors, and around 20% experienced internet hacking/fraud which will have a negative impact on their health in the future [8]. The study found that Chinese students rely on OHI to manage both their own and others' health without sufficient knowledge/skills to identify misinformation [8].

Researchers should be aware of the physical and mental health issues for which students are likely to require assistance when analysing their behaviour of requesting medical care [3]. Medical students seem to be more distressed than the population in general and more anxious than non-students of same ages [2, 9]. Studying as well as having concerns about competency and achievement leads to the development of stress among medical students [10]. Nonetheless, there is little information available on the physical health of medical students, their behaviour when seeking assistance for physical and mental health issues, and how it is related to the accessibility of issues or other barriers to receiving different forms of care [3]. Although the prevalence of physical illness among medical students remains uncertain, there is some evidence to suggest that they will have significant health concerns during their training [11]. When medical students become ill, anxiety over academic consequences may be a significant obstacle to receiving the adequate medical treatment [11].

The physical health of medical students is poorly understood [3]; however, one longitudinal study has found that the physical health can decline during medical school years [12]. Instead of focusing on the role of the GP and the psychologist in the support and management of physical and mental health [3], studies frequently focus on the role of the medical schools in monitoring and improving student welfare, which is primarily related to mental distress and the significance of stress management programs [13]. Therefore, in this current study, we aimed to explore the influence of the socio-demographic background, health risk behaviours and health status of medical students on visiting the GP and/or the psychologist.

Study design and participants

A cross-sectional study was employed among medical students at the University of Szeged (USZ), Hungary. The study was carried out between April and October 2021. All medical students from first to sixth years were invited to participate using convenience sampling. The participation was voluntary and anonymous. The survey was completed by 688 students in total (n = 362 Hungarian and n = 326 international students).

Data Collection And Measurements

Online questionnaires were used to collect data. Students were requested to complete the questionnaire by clicking on the link given on the teaching platform before or after the teachers delivered the lecture or practice. The questionnaire took about 10–15 minutes to complete.

Socio-demographic characteristics

Age: Students were asked to provide their age in years. For data analysis, age was divided into two categories: 18–25 and 26–37 years. Sex: Students were given the choice of choosing either a male or female sex on the questionnaire. Years of study: the years of study were categorized into ‘preclinical (1st/2nd)’ and ‘clinical (3rd/4th/5th/6th)’. Relationship status was dichotomized as ‘not in relationship (single/divorced/living separated)’ and ‘in relationship (married/common-law marriage/living together/ having a partner but not living together)’. The financial situation of the students' family was evaluated by a 5-point Likert scale, which was dichotomized as ‘poor income’ (very bad/bad/average) and ‘high income (good/very good)’.

Health behaviours

Smoking and alcohol consumption: if they smoked or drank alcohol The response options were Yes (yes, occasionally/yes, regularly) or No. Sexual intercourse: if the students ever had sexual activity during medical school, and the response options were Yes or No.

Health status

Chronic diseases: if medical students ever experienced any chronic illness during their study period, either self-determined or diagnosed by a doctor; response option was Yes or No. Body mass index (BMI), there were two categories, underweight and normal: BMI ≤ 24.9 kg/m² and overweight and obese: BMI ≥ 25.0 kg/m². Self-rated general health and mental health reported by using a five-point Likert scale (1 = very bad, 5 = very good). The respondents had to answer the question regarding general health, "how do you evaluate your general health status?" and for mental health they were asked, "how do you evaluate your mental health status?". For the purposes of data analyses, self-rated health (SRH) was categorized as good (scores 4 and 5) and poor (scores 1 to 3).

Perceived stress scale (PSS): The 10-item Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10) [14] is a 10-item questionnaire originally developed by Cohen et al. (1983). Respondents were asked how often they felt a certain way on a five-point scale from ‘never’ to ‘very often’. PSS is not a diagnostic instrument, and the developer has not published any score cut-offs[15]. In the current study, for the purposes of data analysis, researchers categorized PSS into a dichotomy, lower stress (score < 14) and higher stress (score ≥ 14).

Healthcare-seeking

Healthcare-seeking behaviour is defined as any activity performed by those who assumed they had a health issue or became ill with the intention of discovering an appropriate treatment [16]. Researchers determined that visits to the GP and psychologist are forms of healthcare-seeking behaviours. Visiting a GP or a psychologist: students answered the question if they visited the family doctor in the previous year, if they visited a psychologist in the previous year, and the response options were Yes and No.

Statistical analysis

Data were analysed by IBM SPSS ‘Statistics 28.0’. Descriptive analysis of socio-demographic characteristics, health risk behaviours, health status and healthcare seeking were undertaken. Univariable logistic regression analysis of these variables was performed to evaluate unadjusted relationships. Informed by the results, multivariable logistic regression models were constructed to evaluate adjusted relationships, and all analyses were done separately for both Hungarian and international students. In the multivariable logistic regression analysis, only variables having a significant p value < 0.05 were taken into account. Nagelkerke R² values were used to evaluate the explanatory power of the models, whereas Hosmer and Lemeshow proposed a goodness-of-fit test.

Ethics

The study protocol was reviewed and approved by the Human Institutional and Regional Biomedical Research Ethics Committee, University of Szeged, Hungary (license number: 4936). All participants were informed of the objectives and procedures of the study and their rights to withdraw from the study. Informed consent was obtained from all included participants. Anonymous data were collected and held securely.

Characteristics of the sample

The characteristics of the respondents are described in Table 1. The majority (86.6%) of the students were aged 18–25 years with the mean age of 22.47 ± 2.75 years. There were significant differences between the Hungarian and the international medical students in socio-demographic factors, such as age, sex, year of study, relationship and economic status.

Table 1

Characteristics of respondents by Hungarian and international medical students
Characteristics	Total (688)		Hungarian (362)		International (326)		P
	N	%	N	%	N	(%)
Socio-demographic factors
Age (years)
18–25	596	86.6	326	90.1	270	82.8	0.005
26–37	92	13.4	36	9.9	56	17.2
Sex
Male	268	39.0	117	32.3	151	46.3	< 0.001
Female	420	61.0	245	67.7	175	53.7
Years of study
Preclinical	415	60.3	191	52.8	224	68.7	< 0.001
Clinical	273	39.7	171	47.2	102	31.3
Relationship status
Not in a relationship	425	61.8	181	50.0	244	74.8	< 0.001
In a relationship	263	38.2	181	50.0	82	25.2
Economic status
Low income	247	35.9	161	44.5	86	26.4	< 0.001
High income	441	64.1	201	55.5	240	73.6
Health risk behaviours
Smoking
No	533	77.5	285	78.7	248	76.1	0.405
Yes	155	22.5	77	21.3	78	23.9
Alcohol consumption
No	206	29.9	80	22.1	126	38.7	< 0.001
Yes	482	70.1	282	77.9	200	61.3
Sexual intercourse
No	324	47.1	151	41.7	173	53.1	0.003
Yes	364	52.9	211	58.3	153	46.9
General health status
Chronic disease
No	573	83.6	294	81.2	281	86.2	0.078
Yes	113	16.4	68	18.8	45	13.8
BMI
≤ 24.9 kg/m²	155	22.5	58	16.0	97	29.8	< 0.001
≥ 25.0 kg/m²	533	77.5	304	84.0	229	70.2
Self-rated general health
Good	460	66.9	240	66.3	220	67.5	0.741
Poor	228	33.1	122	33.7	106	32.5
Mental health status
Perceived stress scale (PSS)
Lower	545	79.2	276	76.2	269	82.5	0.043
Higher	143	20.8	86	23.8	57	17.5
Self-rated mental health
Good	338	49.1	174	48.1	164	50.3	0.557
Poor	350	50.9	188	51.9	162	49.7
Healthcare-seeking
Visiting a GP
No	297	43.2	153	42.3	144	44.2	0.614
Yes	391	56.8	209	57.7	182	55.8
Visiting a psychologist
No	570	82.8	290	80.1	280	85.9	0.045
Yes	118	17.2	72	19.9	46	14.1

The results show that medical students have risky health behaviours during their medical education. There was no significant difference in smoking behaviour between Hungarian and international students (p = 0.405), while alcohol consumption and sexual activity differed significantly between the two groups, p < 0.001 and p = 0.003, respectively.

There was no significant difference in self-rated health and chronic illnesses between the two groups. Meanwhile, more than a quarter of the international students reported having a BMI > 24.9%, whereas this finding was given by 16% of the Hungarian students (a statistically significant difference; p < 0.001).

In the total sample, there was a difference in the proportion of visits to the GP and the psychologist; the number of visits to the psychologist was lower. Concerning the number of visits to the GP between Hungarian and international students, there was no significant difference. On the other hand, there was a statistically significant difference between the two groups regarding visits to the psychologist (p = 0.045).

Medical Students Visit To The Gp

In the univariable logistic regression (Table 2), there was no significant relationship identified between the socio-demographic characteristics and the GP visits by medical students in both groups. Health risk behaviours significantly associated with visiting the GP were found to be alcohol consumption and sexual intercourse in both groups. While smoking behaviour had no significant relationship in either group. General health status significantly associated with the GP visits included the presence of a chronic disease as well as BMI values in both groups. In contrast, self-rated general health had no significant association in either group.

Table 2

Univariable logistic regression analysis of visiting a GP OR = odds ratio, CI = confidence interval, BMI = body mass index
Characteristics			Total (688)					Hungarian (362)
	OR		95% CI	p value		OR		95% CI	p value	OR	95% CI	p value
Socio-demographic factors
Age (years)
18–25	1						1			1
26–37	1.50		0.95–2.37		0.081		1.75	0.83–3.68	0.134	1.39	0.77–2.52	0.269
Sex
Male		1					1			1
Female		1.14	0.83–1.55		0.402		1.03	0.66–1.60	0.900	1.24	0.80–1.92	0.336
Years of study
Preclinical		1					1			1
Clinical		1.15	0.85–1.57		0.357		1.01	0.66–1.53	0.954	1.34	0.83–2.16	0.224
Relationship status
Not in a relationship		1					1			1
In a relationship		1.17	0.86–1.61		0.301		1.02	0.67–1.55	0.915	1.42	0.85–2.37	0.180
Economic status
Low income		1					1			1
High income		0.91	0.66–1.25		0.561		0.79	0.52–1.20	0.280	1.13	0.69–1.86	0.611
Health risk behaviours
Smoking
No		1					1			1
Yes		0.99	0.69–1.43		0.987		0.97	0.58–1.61	0.906	1.03	0.62–1.72	0.906
Alcohol consumption
No		1					1			1
Yes		1.48	1.07–2.06		0.018		1.15	0.70–1.90	0.575	1.81	1.16–2.85	0.010
Sexual intercourse
No		1					1			1
Yes		1.50	1.11–2.04		0.008		1.06	0.69–1.61	0.799	2.21	1.41–3.45	0.001
General health status
Chronic illness
No		1					1			1
Yes		3.79	2.31–6.21		< 0.001		3.85	2.02–7.34	< 0.001	3.70	1.72–7.96	0.001
BMI
≤ 24.9 kg/m²		1					1			1
≥ 25.0 kg/m²		0.69	0.47–0.99		0.045		0.56	0.31–1.03	0.061	0.75	0.46–1.21	0.248
Self-rated general health
Good		1					1			1
Poor		1.18	0.86–1.64		0.293		1.13	0.73–1.77	0.564	1.24	0.77–1.98	0.363

According to the multivariable logistic regression (Table 3), only chronic diseases were significantly associated in the total sample. International medical students were more likely to visit a GP when they were sexually active or had a chronic disease. On the other hand, Hungarian medical students were more likely to visit a GP when they had chronic disease.

Table 3

Multivariable logistic regression analysis of visiting a GP
Characteristics			Total (688)					Hungarian (362)
	AOR		95% CI	p value		AOR		95% CI	p value	AOR	95% CI	p value
Health risk behaviours
Alcohol consumption
No		1					1			1
Yes		1.26	0.89–1.79		0.191		1.07	0.63–1.80	0.804	1.37	0.84–2.23	0.204
Sexual intercourse
No		1					1			1
Yes		1.35	0.98–1.87		0.067		1.04	0.67–1.63	0.848	1.86	1.14–3.01	0.012
General health status
Chronic illness
No		1					1			1
Yes		3.50	2.13–5.76		< 0.001		3.70	1.93–7.09	< 0.001	3.22	1.46–7.07	0.004
BMI
≤ 24.9 kg/m²		1					1			1
≥ 25.0 kg/m²		0.78	0.53–1.14		0.190		0.62	0.33–1.15	0.128	0.95	0.57–1.58	0.831
Nagelkerke R²			0.080					0.081			0.098
Hosmer and Lemeshow Test			P = 0.577					P = 0.768			P = 0.257
AOR = adjusted odds ratio, CI = confidence interval, BMI = body mass index
Only variables that were significant in the univariable logistic regression analysis were then analysed by using the multivariable logistic regression analysis

Medical Students Visit To The Psychologist

According to the univariable logistic regression analysis (Table 4), socio-demographic factors that have a significant relationship with visits to a psychologist was being sexually active in both groups, but the year of study was relevant only in the Hungarian group. Risky health behaviours included alcohol consumption were significantly related to visits to the psychologists in the total sample. Moreover, mental health status, PSS and self-rated mental health had a significant relationship in all groups.

Table 4

Univariable logistic regression analysis of visiting a psychologist OR = odds ratio, CI = confidence interval, BMI = body mass index
Characteristics			Total (688)					Hungarian (362)
	OR		95% CI	p value		OR		95% CI	p value	OR	95% CI	p value
Socio-demographic factors
Age (years)
18–25	1						1			1
26–37	1.30		0.75–2.26		0.339		1.39	0.62–1.11	0.418	1.41	0.65–3.04	0.376
Sex
Male		1					1			1
Female		2.10	1.35–3.29		0.001		1.87	1.02–3.43	0.043	2.19	1.12–4.28	0.022
Years of study
Preclinical		1					1			1
Clinical		1.46	0.98–2.19		0.058		2.02	1.19–3.42	0.009	0.74	0.36–1.50	0.412
Relationship status
Not in a relationship		1					1			1
In a relationship		1.23	0.82–1.84		0.309		1.15	0.68–1.92	0.598	1.05	0.52–2.15	0.875
Economic status
Low income		1					1			1
High income		0.93	0.61–1.40		0.730		1.07	0.63–1.80	0.787	0.89	0.44–1.79	0.755
Health risk behaviours
Smoking
No		1					1			1
Yes		1.02	0.63–1.64		0.920		1.19	0.64–2.19	0.588	0.86	0.41–1.84	0.708
Alcohol consumption
No		1					1			1
Yes		1.73	1.08–2.79		0.024		1.97	0.96–4.05	0.061	1.35	0.70–2.63	0.364
Sexual intercourse
No		1					1			1
Yes		1.06	0.71–1.58		0.750		0.93	0.55–1.57	0.796	1.15	0.61–2.15	0.653
Mental health status
PSS
Lower		1					1			1
Higher		2.21	1.43–3.43		< 0.001		2.17	1.24–3.79	0.007	2.11	1.03–4.33	0.041
Self-rated mental health
Good		1					1			1
Poor		3.12	2.01–4.83		< 0.001		2.94	1.67–5.18	< 0.001	3.37	1.68–6.77	0.001

With regard to the multivariable analysis (Table 5), there was a significant correlation between sex, alcohol consumption, and PSS in the total sample of the visits to the psychologists. Hungarian medical students were more likely to visit the psychologists when they were in the clinical years and had poor self-rated mental health. While female international students and those who had poor self-rated mental health were more likely to seek psychological help.

Table 5. Multivariable logistic regression analysis of visiting psychologist

Characteristics			Total (688)					Hungarian (362)			International (326)
	AOR		95% CI	p value		AOR		95% CI	p value	AOR	95% CI	p value
Socio-demographic factors
Sex
Male		1					1			1
Female		1.98	1.25–3.13		0.004		1.78	0.95–.3.35	0.072	2.21	1.11–4.41	0.024
Years of study
Preclinical		1					1			1
Clinical		1.29	0.85–1.95		0.228		1.74	1.00–3.01	0.048	0.70	0.34–1.47	0.352
Health risk behaviours
Alcohol consumption
No		1					1			1
Yes		1.71	1.05–2.79		0.032		2.01	0.96–4.23	0.064	1.33	0.67–2.64	0.415
Mental health status
PSS
Lower		1					1			1
Higher		2.70	1.68–4.33		<0.001		1.28	0.68–2.41	0.440	1.28	0.59–2.76	0.530
Self-rated mental health
Good		1					1			1
Poor		1.30	0.80–2.11		0.284		2.45	1.31–4.60	0.005	3.08	1.47–6.45	0.003
Nagelkerke R²			0.109					0.118			0.108
Hosmer and Lemeshow Test			0.644					0.102			0.800

AOR= adjusted odds ratio, CI= confidence interval, BMI= body mass index

Only variables that were significant in the univariable logistic regression analysis were then analysed by using a multivariable logistic regression analysis

Main findings

From the results, it was found that medical students' visits to seek medical assistance to GP or the psychologist were still low, which is consistent with finding of other studies [1, 3]. Medical students may feel they have the knowledge to overcome their health problems by seeking help from friends or family members [4, 17]. The same opinion has been expressed in a study that students tend to avoid or delay disclosure, and they seek help because of the perceived risk to their future [6, 11]. Meanwhile, in another study, it has been suggested that the reason for coming to professional healthcare was not because it would hinder the students' studies or reduce their achievement because of the disease they were having [3], but they were reluctant to come to the GP for reasons of the type and level of the disease they were experiencing [17, 18].

Our study showed that both Hungarian and international medical students who had chronic illnesses had the possibility to visit the GP. This finding was supported by a study which stated that students had symptoms of chronic diseases, such as respiratory, gastrointestinal, musculoskeletal symptoms or miscellaneous would come to visit the GP [18]. The same thing has also been described by previous studies which stated that health seeking behaviour among medical students might be influenced by the presence or absence of chronic diseases the students had [19]. However, another study claims that only students with symptoms of the disease at a severe stage would come to seek medical assistance [7, 20]. When analysing between local and international students, there may be several things that need to be considered, as it is known in the previous research that the mental health of international students might be influenced by the process of acculturation that they experience [21].

Likewise, students who often engage in risky health behaviours would have an impact on their physical and mental health, so that these students need appropriate health assistance [22]. The current findings suggest that international medical students who were sexually active were more likely to visit a GP. Hobs reports in his research that family doctors are the most common providers of support (47.5–54.8%), less than half of the individuals experiencing unpleasant sexual difficulties sought help or advice to health professionals [23]. The primary obstacle to students seeking medical care (70.4%) and students in need of sexual health counselling (72.2%) was acceptance of services [24].

The findings of the current study show that students were less likely to come to the psychologist than to the GP. This is of particular concern even though 50.9% of the students reported experiencing poor mental health, they were reluctant to come for psychological help. This might be influenced by the stigmatization of students when they have poor mental health problems [17, 25]. Worries about confidentiality were only seen as a barrier to seeking help for mental health problems [17] to consult friends and⁄ family informally about symptoms relating to mental health problems [3].

A prior study has revealed that men and women exhibit comparable help-seeking behaviours [26]. However, in the current study, it was observed that female students were more likely to seek the advice of a psychologist, and this finding was also present in the study of Mou, that is, women were more likely than men to take precautions [27, 28]. The likelihood of contracting a disease, how well people respond to treatments, and how frequently they seek medical attention have all been found to be influenced by sex and social circumstances [29]. Another study has claimed that patients' self-reports revealed gender variations in the way they sought medical attention with women saying they contacted their primary care physician more frequently than males for both physical and mental health issues [28, 30].

The study conducted by Sawaha highlights that the academic year affects the search for health assistance[19] similarly to the findings in the current study where clinical students tried to seek help for psychological problems more often by consulting a psychologist. Students in higher academic years had a higher probability to be in the risk pattern of burnout, so they needed to come to the psychologist more often [31]. In addition, this study found a link between psychological visits and perceived stress, and prior research indicated that medical students generally experienced greater levels of perceived stress and emotional distress [31]. A more thorough understanding of how various sorts of stressors affect college students' mental health will certainly allow any such efforts to more accurately identify and offer options to those who need support [32].

The recent findings argue that alcohol consumption was associated with seeking help from a psychologist. Consequently, drinking issues may have a very negative effect on mental health. One recent study showed that drinking alcohol were more likely to have mental health problems [33]. Excessive alcohol consumption and alcoholism can exacerbate pre-existing disorders like depression, or they may lead to the development of new issues, such as anxiety, depression or significant memory loss [9, 34]. Some drinkers make an effort to overcome their issues, but those who are dependent on alcohol may frequently find it difficult to stop drinking on their own. They need professionally supervised detoxification to avoid withdrawal symptoms including seizures, which could be lethal. After stabilization, patients are expected to require support for treating psychological issues brought on by problem drinking [34].

Strengths And Limitations

In this study, health issues concerning both general health and mental health were discussed by using self-rated health assessments that are easy to assess by respondents and do not require much time in answering questionnaires. As another strength of the survey, a perceived stress scale that is easily understood by respondents in assessing the perception of stress was used. Nevertheless, despite the use of valid measurements and online survey measure, this study has several limitations. First, the cross-sectional study design may cause result bias. Second, convenience sampling was employed to recruit medical students’ participation, which may affect the representativeness of our findings. Future studies should consider using longitudinal study design, mixed method (qualitative and quantitative), dig deeper into the reasons why students seek medical assistance other than the variables in this study. The reasons why students visit psychology less frequently than to the GP can be explored by in-depth interviews.

Healthcare-seeking was influenced by socio-demographic characteristics, health risk behaviour and health issues among medical students. This finding is encouraging medical schools to promote students to ask for assistance and come forward with problems early as well as increase student awareness in order to reduce risky behaviours. Therefore, in addition to their patients, a medical student's future career depends on the ability to fully comprehend healthcare attitudes and to develop solutions that will improve health behaviour and to get appropriate health care.

GP: general practitioner; OHI: online health information; USZ: University of Szeged; SRH: self-rated health; PSS: Perceived stress scale; BMI: Body mass index; OR: Odd Ratio; CI: Confidence Interval

Acknowledgements

We are grateful for the contribution of all those students who participated in this study

Authors’ Contributions

AU, EP, RM: methodology, formal analysis, writing original draft, interpretation and revise. EP, RM: reviewing and supervision. AU, VZ, AMN, SS, ZM: investigation, conceptualization, interpretation, revise, and editing. All authors have read and approved the final manuscript

Funding

The research project had no funding from any organizations. The manuscript publication was funded by University of Szeged Open Access Fund (grant number: 6026) This funding enables open access publication but has no role/influence on study design, data collection, analysis, interpretation and manuscript writing.

Availability of data and materials

The datasets used during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request

Ethics approval and consent to participate

All methods were carried out in accordance with relevant guidelines and regulations. The study protocol was approved by the Human Institutional and Regional Biomedical Research Ethics Committee, University of Szeged, Hungary (license number: 4936). Informed consent was obtained from all subjects.

Consent for publication

Not applicable.

Competing Interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Author details

¹Department of Public Health, Albert Szent-Györgyi Medical School, University of Szeged, Szeged, Hungary; ²Stikes Muhammadiyah Bojonegoro, Bojonegoro, Indonesia; ³Universitas 17 Agustus 1945 Surabaya, Surabaya, Indonesia.

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No competing interests reported.

Healthcare-seeking of medical students: the effect of socio-demographic factors, health risk behaviour and health status – a cross-sectional study in Hungary

Status:

Journal Publication

Version 1

Abstract

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusion

Background

Methods

Study design and participants

Data Collection And Measurements

Socio-demographic characteristics

Health behaviours

Health status

Healthcare-seeking

Statistical analysis

Ethics

Results

Characteristics of the sample

Medical Students Visit To The Gp

Medical Students Visit To The Psychologist

Discussion

Main findings

Strengths And Limitations

Conclusion

Abbreviations

Declarations

References

Additional Declarations

Status:

Journal Publication

Version 1