Potential Help-Seeking Behaviors Associated with Better Self-Rated Health among Rural Older Patients: A Cross-Sectional Study

Ryuichi Ohta, Mikiya Sato, Jun Kitayuguchi, Tetsuhiro Maeno and Chiaki Sano
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Ryuichi Ohta: Community Care, Unnan City Hospital, Unnan 699-1221, Japan
Mikiya Sato: Faculty of Medicine, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba 305-8575, Japan
Jun Kitayuguchi: Physical Education and Medicine Research Center Unnan, Unnan 699-1105, Japan
Tetsuhiro Maeno: Faculty of Medicine, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba 305-8575, Japan
Chiaki Sano: Department of Community Medicine Management, Faculty of Medicine, Shimane University, 89-1 Enya cho, Izumo 693-8501, Japan

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 17, 1-8

Abstract: Help-seeking behaviors (HSB) for mild symptoms vary because of differences in health care resources and patients’ backgrounds. Potential HSBs for lay and professional care use are related to patients’ health conditions. However, there is a lack of evidence of the relation between them. This study examined the relation between patients’ potential HSBs and self-rated health (SRH). The cross-sectional study involved 169 patients, aged above 65 years, who visited a Japanese rural clinic. A validated checklist was used to assess potential patients’ HSBs. A chi-square test and logistic regression were performed to examine the relation between patients’ self-rated health and HSB regarding lay and professional care use. Participants were 77.5 years old, on average (SD = 8.3). Results reveal that having regular exercise habits (OR = 2.42, p = 0.04), adequate sleep (OR = 4.35, p = 0.006), work (OR = 2.59, p = 0.03), high socioeconomic status (OR = 6.67, p = 0.001), and using both lay and professional care (OR = 2.39, p = 0.046) were significantly correlated with high self-rated health. Living alone was negatively correlated with higher SRH (OR = 0.23, p = 0.015). To improve rural patients’ health care, in addition to improving their health management skills, potential HSB for mild symptoms should be investigated and interventions that consider patients’ socioeconomic factors and living conditions should be implemented.

Keywords: help-seeking behavior; self-rated health; rural older people; Japan; health education (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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