title: Help-seeking behaviour of patients attending the psychiatric service in a sample of United Arab Emirates population.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Many patients suffering from psychiatric disorders seek non-professional care before attending specialized services.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To study the help-seeking behaviour of patients referred to the psychiatric department of Al-Ain Hospital, which is the main university teaching hospital in UAE.
  
  
  METHODS
  This study was a descriptive cross-sectional epidemiological survey. All new patients attending the psychiatry out-patient clinic at Al-Ain Hospital were screened for nine consecutive months from March to November 2003 inclusive.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The sample consisted of 106 patients (52 male; 54 female). Prior to presenting to the psychiatric service, 44.8% consulted faith healers, 31% of whom had had a previous experience with them; 45% reported some improvement but their symptoms recurred later, while 47% reported no improvement. In 8% their symptoms worsened for the current episode. Treatments received were herbal (29.8%) and prayer (70.2%). Of the sample, 43.4% consulted a primary care physician before presenting to the secondary psychiatric care.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In this sample a sizable number of patients sought alternative methods of treatment before attending the specialized psychiatric services.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, UAE University, UAE. mohamed.salem@uaeu.ac.ae
authors.forename: Mohamed Omar
authors.initials: MO
authors.lastname: Salem
authors.forename: Bader
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Saleh
authors.forename: Said
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yousef
authors.forename: Sufyan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sabri
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001294:Attitude to Health; D005260:Female; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000628:therapy*; D008605:Mental Health Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008875:Middle Aged; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014479:United Arab Emirates; D055815:Young Adult