Background: The aim of this study was to examine the correlates between health seeking behavior and health status among the Elderly group in Osun State, Nigeria.Material & Methods:A cross-sectional study was conducted in Osun State between July-October 2020. A multistage sampling method was used to select 433 people aged 60 years and older. The participants were interviewed face-to-face using a well-structured questionnaire. Both descriptive and inferential statistics was used to analyse data. Results:Findings from the study revealed that majority (77.8%) of the respondents had poor health status. Key findings showed that majority (72.4%) of respondents had good health seeking behaviour. Furthermore, age (p<0.05), marital status (p<0.05), educational status (p<0.05) and monthly income (p<0.05) were statistically associated with the health status of the elderly people.Conclusions:An adequate understanding of health seeking behaviour and its correlates with health status especially among the elderly people is needed to improve the health care in Nigeria. Although the elderly people have a good health seeking behaviour, it does not however translate to good health status. Therefore, strategies to improve the health status including improving their financial status should be developed with adequate health literacy. Elderly people should learn the importance of regular health examinations to promote health, prevent diseases, and slow the progress of chronic diseases.

Background: It is postulated that osteoarthritis (OA) patients' health-seeking behavior depends largely on the disease severity and loss of function. Objective: This study aimed to assess the pain characteristics, activity limitations, and health-seeking behaviors of older adults with OA in Nigeria. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 230 purposively selected community-dwelling older adults in a semi-urban setting in Nigeria. Pain characteristics, activity limitations, and health-seeking behavior were assessed by an interviewer using the Chronic Pain Grade Scale, Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Arthritis Index, and Health-Care Seeking Behaviour Questionnaire, respectively. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and inferential statistics (chi-square and multiple regression) to predict factors influencing health-seeking behavior, and we set the alpha level at p<0.05. Results: Pain at the knee (73.0%) was the most defining feature of OA, and it was typically severe (59.1%), frequent (51.3%), felt deep in the bone (47.0%), and associated with morning stiffness (27.4%). OA led to severe activity limitation (54.3%), and 51.7% of the respondents had an overall negative health-seeking behavior. Furthermore, activity limitation was significantly associated with religion (p=0.008) and pain severity (p=0.001). Similarly, the age (p=022), sex (p=0.006), marital status (p=0.005), and ethnicity (p=0.018) were significantly associated with health-seeking behavior. In addition, health-seeking behavior was predicted by cost, preference, ethnicity, employment, marital status, and limitation inactivity. Conclusion: OA pain is prevalent among community-dwelling older adults, it imposes a severe limitation on activities of daily living, and sociodemographic factors influenced the health-seeking behaviors of patients with OA.