NOSOPHOBIA, HYPOCHONDRIASIS AND HEALTHCARE SEEKING BEHAVIOUR OF PEOPLE IN CALABAR METROPOLIS, CROSS RIVER STATE, NIGERIA: COVID-19 EXPERIENCE

The study investigated nosophobia, hypochondriasis and healthcare seeking behaviour of people in Calabar Metropolis of Cross River State, Nigeria: The Covid-19 experience. A cross-sectional descriptive survey design and questionnaire was used to collect data from 200 respondents randomly sampled. Data were sorted, cleaned, coded and analyzed using SPSS version 20 software and hypotheses tested using Chi-square significant at 95% CI (0.05). Results presented in descriptive and inferential statistics. Respondents presented nosophobia and hypochondriasis 182(91.0%), slightly more in women 92(46.0%) as compared to men 90(45.0%), progresses with age and educational level. Phobia was more from Covid-19 48(24.0%) and HIV/AIDS 40(20.0%). Majority 157(78.5%) will never want to seek healthcare. Gender (P = .621) and education (P = .150) were not significant while Age (P = .001*) was significant. Nosophobia, hypochondriasis and healthcare seeking behaviour was significant (P = .001*). Continuous increase in peoples' awareness was recommended among others. Copyright (c) 2020, Etim, John John. This is an open access article distributed under the creative commons attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.