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Unveiling the unseen toll: exploring the impact of the Lebanese economic crisis on the health-seeking behaviors in a sample of patients with diabetes and hypertension

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dc.contributor.author Cherfane, Michelle
dc.contributor.author Boueri, Myriam
dc.contributor.author Issa, Elio
dc.contributor.author Abdallah, Racha
dc.contributor.author Hamam, Ali
dc.contributor.author Sbeity, Kassem
dc.contributor.author Saad, Anthony
dc.contributor.author Abi-Gerges, Aniella
dc.date.accessioned 2024-03-01T10:33:06Z
dc.date.available 2024-03-01T10:33:06Z
dc.date.copyright 2024 en_US
dc.date.issued 2024-12-01
dc.identifier.issn 1471-2458 en_US
dc.identifier.uri http://hdl.handle.net/10725/15360
dc.description.abstract Background Against the backdrop of Lebanon’s escalating multifaceted crisis which resulted in medication shortages for chronic diseases and unaffordable healthcare services, the current study endeavors to shed light on a critical yet overlooked facet of the Lebanese economic crisis– its profound impact on the health-seeking behaviors of patients with hypertension and diabetes mellitus. Methods An exploratory cross-sectional study based on an online questionnaire was conducted on 156 adult Lebanese citizens diagnosed medically with either hypertension or diabetes. We gathered sociodemographic characteristics and healthcare-related challenges faced during the economic crisis. We also assessed stress levels using the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS-21). Descriptive and bivariate analyses were done using SPSS version 26. Results The mean age of the population was 49.8 ± 17.7 years old, 51.6% were females and 48.4% were males, 29.7% had diabetes, 51.3% had hypertension and 19.0% had both diseases. Among all, 84.2% reported dissatisfaction with the current healthcare system, 31.6% reported changing their physician mainly because of unaffordable consultation fees (66%) or immigration of the physician (32%). Of those with hypertension and/or diabetes, less than 20% reported finding all their prescribed medications and 47% either modified or discontinued their treatment without seeking medical advice. In case of drug shortage, patients relied on stocked reserves (26%), alternative/generic medications (10%) and external sources for medication procurement such as relatives living abroad (41.7%), outsourcing suppliers (19.9%), dispensaries (19.6%) and NGOs (20.3%). All participants reported a high stress level (5.03/7) with a mean total DASS-21 score of 38.7 ± 35.8 that were attributed to August 4th Beirut port explosion (81.0%), global pandemic (81%), unstable political conditions (90.5%), economic crisis (96.8%), medication shortage (91.8%) and inability to access healthcare (74.1%). Higher sub-scores for anxiety, depression and total stress were insignificantly noted in participants with both hypertension and diabetes (p > 0.05). Conclusion Our findings explore how the economic crisis has taken its toll on almost all aspects of healthcare in a sample of patients with diabetes and hypertension in Lebanon. The drug shortage as well as disruptions in affordable healthcare access imposed several barriers to adequate adherence to treatment regimens and acted as important mental health stressors. en_US
dc.language.iso en en_US
dc.title Unveiling the unseen toll: exploring the impact of the Lebanese economic crisis on the health-seeking behaviors in a sample of patients with diabetes and hypertension en_US
dc.type Article en_US
dc.description.version Published en_US
dc.author.school SOM en_US
dc.author.idnumber 201402416 en_US
dc.author.department N/A en_US
dc.relation.journal BMC Public Health en_US
dc.journal.volume 24 en_US
dc.journal.issue 1 en_US
dc.article.pages 1-14 en_US
dc.keywords Economic crisis en_US
dc.keywords Hypertension en_US
dc.keywords Diabetes en_US
dc.keywords Medications en_US
dc.keywords Healthcare for all en_US
dc.identifier.doi https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-024-18116-6 en_US
dc.identifier.ctation Cherfane, M., Boueri, M., Issa, E., Abdallah, R., Hamam, A., ... & Abi-Gerges, A. (2024). Unveiling the unseen toll: exploring the impact of the Lebanese economic crisis on the health-seeking behaviors in a sample of patients with diabetes and hypertension. BMC Public Health, 24 (1), 1-14. en_US
dc.author.email aniella.abigerges@lau.edu.lb en_US
dc.identifier.tou http://libraries.lau.edu.lb/research/laur/terms-of-use/articles.php en_US
dc.identifier.url https://www.springermedizin.de/unveiling-the-unseen-toll-exploring-the-impact-of-the-lebanese-e/26791078 en_US
dc.orcid.id https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9974-4023 en_US
dc.author.affiliation Lebanese American University en_US


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