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The Decision to Seek CareFactors Associated With the Propensity to Seek Care in a Community-Based Cohort of Men
Rosebud O. Roberts, MD;
Thomas Rhodes, MS;
Cynthia J. Girman, DrPH;
Harry A. Guess, MD, PhD;
Joseph E. Oesterling, MD;
Michael M. Lieber, MD;
Steven J. Jacobsen, MD, PhD
Arch Fam Med. 1997;6(3):218-222.
Abstract
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Objective
To investigate factors associated with a high propensity to seek care.
Design
Cross-sectional baseline component of a prospective cohort study.
Setting
Olmsted County, Minnesota.
Subjects
A randomly selected, community-based cohort of 2115 men aged 40 to 79 years on January 1, 1990.
Measurements
Participants completed a questionnaire that elicited information about the propensity to seek care by means of 7 hypothetical scenarios about physical illness. Also queried was the self-reported outpatient physician utilization in the previous year and sociodemographic factors.
Results
There was a significant association between propensity to seek care and physician utilization. Men with a high propensity to seek care were more likely to have had 4 or more physician visits (odds ratio [OR], 1.7; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.3-2.3). Bivariate analysis suggested significant associations between a propensity to seek care for physical reasons and retirement (OR, 2.0; 95% CI, 1.1-2.6), age of 65 years or more (OR, 1.9; 95% CI, 1.5-2.4), incomplete high school education (OR, 1.6; 95% CI, 1.1-2.2), and an annual income of less than $25 000 (OR, 1.4; 95% CI, 1.1-1.9). Multivariable logistic regression analysis demonstrated that retired men were more likely to have a high propensity to seek care (OR, 1.7; 95% CI, 1.2-2.4), with the other variables no longer being significant.
Conclusions
Our findings suggest an association between propensity to seek care and physician utilization and retirement. In view of the increasing numbers of aged persons in the United States, this relatively higher propensity to seek health care among retired men may have a greater impact on the cost of health care for the aged than is fully appreciated.
Author Affiliations
From the Section of Clinical Epidemiology (Drs Roberts, Girman, Guess, and Jacobsen) and the Department of Urology (Dr Lieber), Mayo Clinic and Foundation, Rochester, Minn; Department of Epidemiology, Merck Research Laboratories, Blue Bell, Pa (Mr Rhodes and Drs Girman and Guess); and University of Michigan, Ann Arbor (Dr Oesterling).
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