Factors influencing health seeking behaviour among students of tertiary institutions in ibadan, oyo state, Nigeria

There have been several definitions of health over the years. The main points emphasized in each of the definitions mostly has been the physical, mental, social and psychological health of an individual and not merely the absence of disease. Actions or inactions taken by an individualto seek for help or remedy when they are faced with health challenges are regarded as the Health Seeking Behaviour (HSB).Often students because of their youthful age,of which the university students belong to, engage in inappropriate health seeking behaviour. This is often due tothe processes of adolescent development, experimentation and exploration at their age. This outcome of the inappropriate behaviourleads to deteriorating health outcomes, high morbidity and mortality rates, especially among them (Mwase, 2021). The study determined the factors influencing health seeking behaviour (HSB) among students of tertiary institutions in Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria. The design for the study was the cross-sectional design. Students at different levels in tertiary institutions in Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria were the study population. The sampling technique used for the study was the multistage sampling technique, withthe sample sizecalculated, using Taro Yamane formula to arrive at 360 respondents. A validated, structured instrumentwas used for data collection which was done within four weeks. Collected data were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics at 0.05% level of significance. The mean age of the respondents was 22.38 ± 8.28 years. Factors such as self-medication, distance from the clinic, cost, academic concerns and religious beliefs were identified as the main causes of HSB among the respondents. Moreover, findings from the analysed data revealed that there was no significant association between ethnicity and self-medication (X2=2.619; p=0.270); distance from clinic (X2=1.846; p=0.397), cost (X2=3.495; p=0.174). academic concerns (X2=4.154; p=0.125) and religious beliefs (X2=0.484; p=0.785). Based on the findings, it is recommended that more health awareness programs should be carried out to sensitize students on the activities of the health clinic within the tertiary institutions.