Somatic symptom disorders and utilization of health services among Palestinian primary health care attendees: a cross sectional study

Abstract

Rationale, aims and objectives: A considerable amount of primary health care (PHC) clients comes in with medically unexplained complaints, leading to frequent consultations and high usage of services and health care costs. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of somatic symptom disorder among PHC attendees and to explore its relation with other mental disorders and risk factors. Methods: A cross sectional design was used to interview 400 attendees at five PHC centers in