「延遲就醫」是一種複雜的行為，不僅受到個人生理與心理狀況的影響，也很容易受到周遭環境的左右。研究顯示「延遲就醫」常導致癌症或慢性病病人錯失接受治療的最佳時機，並對預後產生負面影響，故需積極預防之。而釐清延遲就醫的定義是有效偵測、改善及預防其發生的基石。目前雖有許多學者致力於延遲就醫相關行為的探討，但多數對此一概念缺乏清楚定義。因此，作者以Walker及Avant的步驟來分析此一概念，透過廣泛性的查證、確認定義性特徵、列舉模範、相反、邊緣及相關案例、確認行為之前因後果、佐以實證性資料並提出實務上之建議，以澄清此一概念。根據分析結果「延遲就醫」可被定義為「個人產生不適或異常之症狀後，並未立即尋求醫療照護；且此症狀若未在一定時間內接受治療將導致不良預後」。而「延遲就醫的時間」則為「個人初次產生不適或異常症狀，直到尋求醫療照護的時間」，上述定義期能作為未來發展相關測量工具及介入措施之參考。

Delay in seeking medical care is a complex behavior which is influenced not only by individual physiological and psychological conditions, but also by social and environmental factors. Previous studies showed that delay in seeking medical care for cancer or other chronic diseases often resulted in missing the optimal time for appropriate treatments, which negatively impacted on patients’ health outcomes. Therefore, it is essential to prevent patients from delay in seeking medical care. A clear definition of the concept is the cornerstone for detecting, improving, and preventing its occurrence. Although many researchers have devoted their efforts in studying this behavior, there is still a lack of concrete definition for it. Therefore, the concept of delay in seeking medical care was analyzed by using the Walker and Avant’s concept analysis method. The steps of analysis included the identifying all uses of the concept, determining the defining attributes, constructing model, contrary, borderline, and related cases, identifying antecedents and consequences, defining empirical references, and suggesting directions for clinical applications. The results showed that delay in seeking medical care can be defined as a person who did not seek medical care right away when he had discomfort or abnormal symptoms which will have a poor prognosis if a person is not treated in time. The time of delay in seeking medical care can be defined as the duration from the time of the first appearance of a symptom to the time of the patient seeking medical care. These results provide basis for future studies in developing interventions to prevent patients from delay in seeking medical care.