The Association of Post-Materialism with Health Care Use. Findings of a General Population Survey in Germany

André Hajek and Hans-Helmut König
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André Hajek: Department of Health Economics and Health Services Research, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Martinistraße 52, 20246 Hamburg, Germany
Hans-Helmut König: Department of Health Economics and Health Services Research, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Martinistraße 52, 20246 Hamburg, Germany

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 23, 1-11

Abstract: (1) The aim of this study was to identify the association between post-materialism and health care use (in terms of the frequency of doctor visits and the reason for doctor visits). (2) Data were taken from the German General Social Survey (a representative sample of individuals aged 18 years and over, n = 3338). The Inglehart’s post-materialist index was used to quantify post-materialism. The doctor visits (self-reported) in the past three months served as an outcome measure. The reasons for seeing a doctor served as an additional outcome measure (acute illness; chronic illness; feeling unwell; requesting advice; visit to the doctor’s office without consulting the doctor (e.g., need to get a prescription); preventive medical check-up/vaccination). (3) After adjusting for several covariates, negative binomial regressions revealed that compared with materialism, post-materialism was associated with decreased doctor visits (total sample; women). Moreover, the likelihood of visiting the doctor for reasons of chronic illnesses was lower in post-materialistic women, whereas the likelihood of visiting the doctor for reasons of preventive medical check-up/vaccination was higher in post-materialistic women. (4) Study findings identify an unexplored link between post-materialism and doctor visits in women. One may conclude that in the long-term, the increased likelihood of preventive medical check-ups in post-materialistic women will be beneficial in decreasing the need for doctor visits for reasons of chronic illnesses. However, future research is required to elucidate the underlying mechanisms.

Keywords: Andersen’s behavioral model; health care use; health care utilization; materialism; physician visits; post-materialism; values; cultural values; health service use; health-promotion; screening; vaccination; check-up (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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