Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate some variables that affect patients' explanation models for their illness and help-seeking behavior.
Methods: Sampling was done between 2002 and 2003 among psychiatric patients who were admitted to university hospital in Malatya. Diagnoses of schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder were made according to DSM-IV criteria. A semi-structured interview based on a short questionnaire was conducted for collecting patient demographic data, and patient explanatory model for illness and help-seeking behavior.
Results: The 88 patients that were evaluated included 50 males and 38 females. The mean age of the patients was 31.22+/-9.29 years (range: 16-57 years). In explaining their disease, 46.6% of the patients cited family trouble, 42% their inner problems, 19.3% economic difficulties, and 10.2% cited the consequences of supernatural forces. Among the patients, help-seeking behavior included visiting traditional and religious healers (51.1%), presenting to medical doctors (19.3%), and visiting a psychiatrist (65.9%).
Conclusion: The study revealed that patients with low-level education were more prone to seek religious solutions and those with high-level education tended to visit a psychiatrist. It has been suggested that psycho-educational programs for patients and families will be very useful in ameliorating the problems created by the disease.