SYSTEMATIC REVIEW article
Front. Public Health
Sec. Public Health Education and Promotion
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1580824
Health-seeking behaviour for Non-communicable diseases and its determinants in India-A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis
Provisionally accepted
- SRM Medical College Hospital and Research Centre, Chengalpattu, India
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Introduction: India faces a growing burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), particularly diabetes, cardiovascular conditions, and cancer, straining the healthcare system. Given the urgent need for prevention and management, a systematic review and meta-analysis (SRMA) of health-seeking behaviours for NCDs is essential to guide targeted interventions to improve health outcomes.Methods: The SRMA protocol was registered in PROSPERO (CRD42023476381) and conducted adhering to the Preferred Reporting Items of Systematic reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) 2020 guidelines. PubMed-Medline and Scopus databases were searched from inception to October 27, 2023. Eligible studies focused on adults (>18 years) with NCDs covered under the National Programme for prevention & Control of Cancer, Diabetes, Cardiovascular Diseases & stroke (NPCDCS). Data extraction and risk of bias assessment were conducted using predefined criteria. Meta-analysis of quantitative data was performed using DerSimonian and Laird random-effect model.Results: From 2,917 identified studies, 64 were included in the SRMA, with 40 suitable for meta-analysis. The meta-analysis revealed that 72.72% (95% CI 59.48% to 85.97%, I² = 99.97%) of individuals sought treatment for existing health conditions, with 73.09% (95% CI 54.01% to 92.16%, I² = 99.18%) preferring allopathy, compared to 8.89% (95% CI 5.56% to 12.22%, I² = 86.73%) preferring Alternative medicine with a significant heterogeneity. Major barriers to seeking treatment included illness not considered serious (0.4785 (95% CI 0.4556 to 0.5013) and financial constraints (0.3263 (95% CI 0.1457 to 0.5069), with delays in cancer treatment attributed to lack of disease awareness (0.5091 (95% CI 0.0294 to 0.9888)) and painlessness (0.4502 (95% CI 0.3312 to 0.5692)). Private healthcare facilities (51.26%, 95% CI 42.85% to 59.67%) were preferred over government facilities (33.78%, 95% CI 28.10% to 39.45%). Conclusion: This SRMA provide a comprehensive overview of health-seeking behaviour for NCDs in India. The findings underscore the complex interplay of socioeconomic, cultural, and systemic factors influencing healthcare access and outcomes. Targeted interventions addressing barriers identified in this review are imperative for improving public health and reducing the burden of NCDs in India.
Keywords: Health-seeking behaviour, Healthcare access, Non-communicable diseases (NCDs), NPCDCS, India, Systematic review, Meta-analysis
Received: 07 Mar 2025; Accepted: 05 May 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Haridoss, Nandi, Rajesh Lenin, John, VV and Janardhanan. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Madhumitha Haridoss, SRM Medical College Hospital and Research Centre, Chengalpattu, India
Rajiv Janardhanan, SRM Medical College Hospital and Research Centre, Chengalpattu, India
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