The economic implications of self-care: The effect of lifestyle, functional adaptations, and medical self-care among a national sample of medicare beneficiaries

S.C. Stearns, S.L. Bernard, S.B. Fasick, R. Schwartz, T.R. Konrad, M.G. Ory and G.H. DeFriese

American Journal of Public Health, 2000, vol. 90, issue 10, 1608-1612

Abstract: Objectives. Self-care includes actions taken by individuals to promote or ensure their health, to recover from diseases or injuries, or to manage their effects. This study measured associations between self-care practices (lifestyle practices, adaptations to functional limitations, and medical self-care) and Medicare expenditures among a national sample of adults 65 years and older. Methods. Regression models of Medicare use and expenditures were estimated by using the National Survey of Self-Care and Aging and Medicare claims for 4 years following a baseline interview. Results. Lifestyle factors (swimming and walking) and functional adaptations (general home modifications) were associated with reductions in monthly Medicare expenditures over a 12-month follow-up period. Expenditure reductions were found over the 48-month follow-up period for participation in active sports, gardening, and medical self-care. Practices associated with increases in expenditures included smoking, physical exercise (possibly of a more strenuous nature), and specific home modifications. Conclusions. Certain self-care pracrices appear to have significant implications for Medicare expenditures and presumptively for the health status of older adults. Such practices should be encouraged among older adults as a matter of national health policy.

Date: 2000
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:aph:ajpbhl:2000:90:10:1608-1612_5

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