Healthcare Utilization and Knee Osteoarthritis Symptoms among Urban Older Malaysian

Siti Salwana Kamsan, Devinder Kaur Ajit Singh, Maw Pin Tan and Saravana Kumar
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Siti Salwana Kamsan: Physiotherapy Program & Centre for Healthy Ageing & Wellness, Faculty of Health Sciences, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur 50300, Malaysia
Devinder Kaur Ajit Singh: Physiotherapy Program & Centre for Healthy Ageing & Wellness, Faculty of Health Sciences, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur 50300, Malaysia
Maw Pin Tan: Division of Geriatric Medicine, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur 50603, Malaysia
Saravana Kumar: Allied Health and Human Performance, City East Campus, University of South Australia, Adelaide 5000, Australia

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 7, 1-10

Abstract: Knee osteoarthritis (OA) is a prevalent chronic disorder in the older population. While timely management is important to minimize the consequences of knee OA, information on the utilization of healthcare services among this population remains limited. Therefore, the objectives of this study were to determine the healthcare utilization and its associated factors in older persons with knee OA. Cross-sectional data from 1073 participants aged 60 years and above from the Malaysian Elders Longitudinal Research (MELoR) study were included. The utilization rate of healthcare services was quantified. Factors related to the utilization of healthcare services were determined using logistic regression analysis. Healthcare utilization among participants with knee OA was significantly higher than those without knee OA ( p < 0.01). Outpatient usage was higher ( p < 0.01) in comparison to inpatient and pharmacotherapy. Being married and having an income were significantly associated with seeking outpatient care (OR: 11.136, 95% CI: 1.73–52.82, p < 0.01) and pharmacotherapy (OR: 10.439, 95% CI: 1.187–91.812, p < 0.05), while females were less likely to utilize inpatient care services (OR: 0.126, 95% CI: 0.021–0.746, p < 0.05). The higher rate of healthcare utilization among older persons with knee OA indicates the increased healthcare needs of this population, who are commonly assumed to suffer from a benign disease.

Keywords: healthcare services; older persons; knee osteoarthritis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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