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Age and sex interaction in reported help seeking in response to chest pain
Joy Adamson1, Jenny Donovan, Yoav Ben-Shlomo
1Health Sciences, University of York, Heslington, York. ja14@york.ac.uk
Insights
Older adults, particularly men aged 60-69 and women over 70, are more likely to seek healthcare. Age and sex significantly influence healthcare-seeking behavior, impacting cardiology service access.
Area of Science:
- Health Services Research
- Gerontology
- Sociology of Health
Background:
- Existing research indicates age influences access to cardiology services.
- Few studies have investigated the combined effects of age and sex on healthcare access.
- Understanding these demographics is crucial for equitable healthcare provision.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how age and sex, and their interaction, affect healthcare-seeking behavior.
- To analyze patient responses to symptom vignettes to standardize symptomatology assessment.
- To identify demographic patterns in the propensity to seek medical attention.
Main Methods:
- Cross-sectional survey design.
- Utilized a random sample of 911 individuals stratified by sex in a UK primary care setting.
- Employed chi-squared and logistic regression models to analyze age and sex patterns in response to chest pain vignettes.
Main Results:
- Significant differences in healthcare-seeking propensity were observed based on age and sex.
- Older individuals, specifically men aged 60-69 and women aged 70+, were more inclined to seek care than younger counterparts.
- Women aged 70+ demonstrated over three times the odds of contacting a general practitioner (GP) compared to the reference group, with evidence of an age-sex interaction effect.
Conclusions:
- Patient illness behavior is unlikely to explain age-related inequities in cardiology service access.
- Older populations generally exhibit a higher willingness to consult healthcare providers than younger individuals.
- Findings suggest systemic factors, rather than patient behavior, may underlie disparities in healthcare access.
Background:
There is a growing literature suggesting that access to cardiology services is affected by age. However, there is a dearth of studies that have considered age and sex in conjunction.
Aim:
This study aims to examine the impact of age, and its interaction with sex, on reported healthcare seeking, based on responses to symptom vignettes, in an attempt to standardise symptomatology across all responders.
Design Of Study:
A cross-sectional survey design was utilised.
Setting:
Primary care.
Method:
A random sample of 911 individuals, stratified by sex, was selected from one practice in the UK. Participants were invited to state how they would react in response to the chest pain symptoms presented. Patterns of response were examined, by age and sex, using chi2 and logistic regression models.
Results:
This study identified differences by age and sex in a general practice population in the propensity to seek health care. In particular, men aged 60-69 years and women aged 70 years and over were more likely to report healthcare seeking than younger responders. For example, women aged 70 years and over had over three times greater odds of reporting contact with the GP compared to the reference category. Evidence for an interaction effect between age and sex was observed.
Conclusion:
The results suggest that the inequity that has been demonstrated in access to cardiology services by age is not likely to be due to the patient's illness behaviour as, overall, older people are more likely than younger people to be willing to consult their doctors.
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