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Descriptions of self-treatment for the middle-aged and elderly in Shanxi, China.
- Source :
-
PLoS ONE . 6/11/2018, Vol. 13 Issue 6, p1-14. 14p. - Publication Year :
- 2018
-
Abstract
- Objectives: Self-treatment is a widespread practice among patients with common symptoms and ailments; it is necessary to explore multiple aspects of it. Notably, there is little research into self-treatment among middle-aged and elderly people, who are more likely to fall ill. Our goals are to provide a comprehensive description of self-treatment and explore associated factors with insurance utilization and expenditures among the middle-aged and elderly populations in China. Methods: A survey was conducted in July 2016 in Shanxi, China. A stratified sampling scheme was applied to achieve representativeness. A total of 972 subjects were surveyed. Descriptive statistics, t- and Chi-squared tests, multivariate logistic regression, and multivariate linear regression were utilized. Results: In our study, 772 (79.4%) of the surveyed subjects self-treated during the previous twelve months. Among them, 253 (32.8%) used health insurance. Subjects’ characteristics were associated with insurance utilization and expenditures for self-treatment. Total cost was positively associated with insurance utilization. The subjects with a junior high education (p-value < 0.001, aOR = 0.049) and senior high education (p-value = 0.020, aOR = 0.146) had a lower probability of using insurance. For both total costs and out-of-pocket costs, subjects who were 51 to 60 years old had lower costs. The subjects who were seriously sick and had a primary school education, as well as enterprise occupations, had higher costs. Self-treatment times were also positively associated with costs. Finally, it was found that subjects who didn’t use insurance had lower total costs. Conclusions: The prevalence of self-treatment was high (79.4%). Some characteristics were associated with insurance utilization and expenditures in self-treatment. Our results may be helpful for policy interventions, which are needed to further improve the effectiveness of health insurance in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 19326203
- Volume :
- 13
- Issue :
- 6
- Database :
- Academic Search Index
- Journal :
- PLoS ONE
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 130089274
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0198554