title: Help-seeking behaviors for insomnia in Hong Kong Chinese: a community-based study.
abstract: To determine the prevalence and correlates of help-seeking behaviors for insomnia in Hong Kong Chinese middle-aged adults and their offspring.
  
  
  
  A total of 2231 middle-aged adults (54.2% females, mean age 45.8 years) and 2186 children and adolescents (51.9% females, mean age 13.4 years) completed a questionnaire on insomnia symptoms, daytime functioning, health condition and treatments sought for insomnia.
  
  
  
  A total of 40% of adults and 10% of children and adolescents with insomnia reported having sought treatment for insomnia. Conventional Western medicine was the commonly preferred treatment in 33.3% of adults and 13.3% of children and adolescents who sought help for insomnia, while a higher proportion of individuals with insomnia (34.5% of adults and 26.7% of children and adolescents) sought help from complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) therapies. Female gender (odds ratio [OR] [95% confidence interval, CI] = 2.14 [1.01-4.53]), higher family income (≥15,000 HKD/month) (OR [95% CI] = 3.15 [1.27-6.34]), severity of insomnia (Insomnia Severity Index ≥14) (OR [95% CI] = 2.12 [1.10-4.12]), chronic medications (OR [95% CI] = 4.71 [2.27-9.79]), and psychiatric disorders (OR [95% CI] = 2.83 [1.01-7.96]) were associated with help-seeking behaviors in adults. Presence of morning headache was associated with help-seeking behaviors in children and adolescents (OR [95% CI] = 8.66 [1.72-43.70]).
  
  
  
  It is uncommon for Hong Kong Chinese to seek help for insomnia, despite the high prevalence of insomnia. The significant unmet need argues for timely intervention to promote sleep-health literacy and to enhance the awareness and accessibility of evidence-based treatment for insomnia.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong SAR, China.
authors.forename: Yaping
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong SAR, China.
authors.forename: Jihui
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong SAR, China.
authors.forename: Siu Ping
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Lam
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong SAR, China.
authors.forename: Mandy Wai Man
authors.initials: MW
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China.
authors.forename: Shirley Xin
authors.initials: SX
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong SAR, China; Sleep Medicine Center, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.
authors.forename: Junying
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong SAR, China.
authors.forename: Joey Wing Yan
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Chan
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong SAR, China.
authors.forename: Ngan Yin
authors.initials: NY
authors.lastname: Chan
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong SAR, China.
authors.forename: Albert Martin
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong SAR, China. Electronic address: ykwing@cuhk.edu.hk.
authors.forename: Yun-Kwok
authors.initials: YK
authors.lastname: Wing
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D044466:Asian People; D000529:Complementary Therapies / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D057220:Health Literacy; D000066505:Help-Seeking Behavior; D006723:Hong Kong / Q000453:epidemiology; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D012737:Sex Factors; D007319:Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D002648:Child; D000328:Adult; D008875:Middle Aged
keywords: Children and adolescents; Help-seeking behaviors; Insomnia; Middle-aged adults