{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,7]],"date-time":"2026-08-07T15:30:19Z","timestamp":1786116619402,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":19,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,6]],"date-time":"2026-08-06T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1785974400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Public Health"],"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Background\/objectives<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Despite broad application of the Health Belief Model (HBM) across a range of clinical contexts, its relevance to patients actively presenting with hematuria remains unexplored. Hematuria may stem from minor self-resolving causes or serious malignancies requiring early intervention. This study aimed to characterize health-seeking behavior in this population and to determine which clinical and belief-based factors predict whether patients pursue medical evaluation.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>We conducted a cross-sectional study on 150 patients presented with hematuria, enrolled by convenience sampling from a single tertiary-care urology center. Participants completed a self-administered Arabic questionnaire comprising the Champion Revised Health Belief Model Scale and a sociodemographic instrument. Binary logistic regression was used to identify independent predictors of care-seeking. Health-seeking behavior was analyzed in 125 of the 150 enrolled patients; 25 participants were excluded because hematuria was detected solely on urinalysis without personal symptom awareness.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      Macroscopic hematuria accounted for 68% of cases and was more common among males (74.5%) and those older than 70\u202fyears (85%). Overall, 91% of participants sought or were actively seeking medical care. Among clinical and belief-based variables tested, only hematuria type reached marginal statistical significance: macroscopic presentation was associated with a 2.7-fold higher likelihood of care-seeking relative to microscopic (OR\u202f=\u202f2.66, 95% CI 1.00\u20137.08,\n                      <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u202f=\u202f0.049). This finding should be interpreted with caution given the marginal\n                      <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                      -value and a confidence interval whose lower bound is at 1.0. No HBM construct\u2014including perceived susceptibility, severity, benefits, barriers, confidence, or health motivation\u2014independently predicted this outcome.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>When a symptom is as visually striking as gross hematuria, the decision to seek care appeared to be driven primarily by symptom visibility rather than belief-based constructs, though causal inferences cannot be drawn from this cross-sectional, single-center study. The model\u2019s six constructs did not independently predict care-seeking once hematuria type was considered, suggesting limited additive utility in this context; however, replication in larger and more diverse samples is needed before broader conclusions about HBM applicability are drawn. Importantly, patients with microscopic hematuria\u2014whose condition is no less clinically serious\u2014were less likely to seek care, pointing to a gap that warrants direct attention in future public health planning.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fpubh.2026.1875282","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,6]],"date-time":"2026-08-06T11:34:14Z","timestamp":1786016054000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Health-seeking behavior among hematuria patients in Jordan: the case of the Health Belief Model"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"14","author":[{"given":"Mohammad","family":"Abufaraj","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of Urology, Department of Special Surgery, Jordan University Hospital, The University of Jordan","place":["Amman, Jordan"]},{"name":"Department of Urology, Medical University of Vienna","place":["Vienna, Austria"]},{"name":"Department of Internal Medicine, The National Center for Diabetes Endocrinology and Genetics","place":["Amman, Jordan"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jood","family":"Al-Adwan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Internal Medicine, The National Center for Diabetes Endocrinology and Genetics","place":["Amman, Jordan"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Tamara","family":"Al-Azzeh","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Emergency Medicine, Jordan University Hospital, The University of Jordan","place":["Amman, Jordan"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yara","family":"Saddam","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pediatrics, Jordan University Hospital, The University of Jordan","place":["Amman, Jordan"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Abdalrhman","family":"Albassomi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of Neurosurgery, Department of Special Surgery, Jordan University Hospital, The University of Jordan","place":["Amman, Jordan"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Mohammad","family":"Al-Sabbagh","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Neurology, University of Kansas Medical Center","place":["Kansas City, KS, United States"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Safwan","family":"Abu Khalaf","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of Urology, Department of Special Surgery, Jordan University Hospital, The University of Jordan","place":["Amman, Jordan"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Abdulrahman","family":"Yamin","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of Urology, Department of Special Surgery, Jordan University Hospital, The University of Jordan","place":["Amman, Jordan"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Amr S.","family":"Khatatneh","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, Ibn Sina University for Medical Sciences","place":["Amman, Jordan"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Baha Aldeen","family":"Alshraideh","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of Urology, Department of Special Surgery, Jordan University Hospital, The University of Jordan","place":["Amman, Jordan"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Hana","family":"Taha","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Family and Community Medicine, School of Medicine, The University of Jordan","place":["Amman, Jordan"]},{"name":"Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Karolinska Institutet","place":["Solna, Sweden"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,6]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"801","DOI":"10.3238\/ARZTEBL.2018.0801","article-title":"The investigation of hematuria","volume":"115","author":"Bolenz","year":"2018","journal-title":"Dtsch Arztebl Int"},{"key":"ref2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"547","DOI":"10.1097\/JU.0000000000004490","article-title":"Updates to microhematuria: AUA\/SUFU guideline","volume":"213","author":"Barocas","year":"2025","journal-title":"J Urol"},{"key":"ref3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"328","DOI":"10.1177\/109019817400200403","article-title":"Historical origins of the health belief model","volume":"2","author":"Rosenstock","year":"1974","journal-title":"Health Educ Monogr"},{"key":"ref4","first-page":"45","volume-title":"Health Behavior and Health Education: Theory, Research, and 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(Engl)"},{"key":"ref11","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1033","DOI":"10.1186\/s12913-024-11467-1","article-title":"The transformation of Jordan\u2019s healthcare system in an area of conflict","volume":"24","author":"Tamimi","year":"2024","journal-title":"BMC Health Serv Res"},{"key":"ref12","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"159","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1547-5069.2001.00159.x","article-title":"Transcultural adaptation of Champion\u2019s health belief model scale","volume":"33","author":"Mikhail","year":"2001","journal-title":"J Nurs Scholarsh"},{"key":"ref13","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"2377960820940551","DOI":"10.1177\/2377960820940551","article-title":"The revised Champion\u2019s health belief model scale: predictive validity among Brazilian women","volume":"6","author":"Moreira","year":"2020","journal-title":"SAGE Open Nursing"},{"key":"ref14","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"661","DOI":"10.1080\/10410236.2010.521906","article-title":"A 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Urol"},{"key":"ref17","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"179","DOI":"10.7257\/1053-816X.2010.30.3.179","article-title":"Fear of and susceptibility to prostate cancer as predictors of prostate cancer screening among Haitian-American men","volume":"30","author":"Kleier","year":"2010","journal-title":"Urologic Nursing"},{"key":"ref18","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1273","DOI":"10.1016\/j.urology.2014.01.038","article-title":"Gross hematuria and urinary retention among men from a nationally representative survey in Sierra Leone","volume":"83","author":"Patel","year":"2014","journal-title":"Urology"},{"key":"ref19","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"119","DOI":"10.3233\/BLC-190221","article-title":"Evaluation of hematuria in a large public health care system","volume":"5","author":"Ghandour","year":"2019","journal-title":"Bladder Cancer"}],"container-title":["Frontiers in Public Health"],"original-title":[],"link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.frontiersin.org\/articles\/10.3389\/fpubh.2026.1875282\/full","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,6]],"date-time":"2026-08-06T11:34:15Z","timestamp":1786016055000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.frontiersin.org\/articles\/10.3389\/fpubh.2026.1875282\/full"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,6]]},"references-count":19,"alternative-id":["10.3389\/fpubh.2026.1875282"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/fpubh.2026.1875282","relation":{},"ISSN":["2296-2565"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2296-2565","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,6]]},"article-number":"1875282"}}