Identification of determinants of the utilisation of acupuncture treatment using Andersen's behavioural model
Ye-Seul Lee1, In-Seon Lee2, Song-Yi Kim2
1Acupuncture & Meridian Science Research Center, College of Korean Medicine, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, Republic of Korea Graduate School of Public Health, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Objectives:
The utilisation of healthcare services is the result of a complex decision-making process with different determinants. This study aims to identify the determinants of the utilisation of acupuncture treatment using Andersen's behavioural model and quality of life.
Methods:
In this study we reviewed Korean Health Panel data, a nationally representative set of data, and analysed the utilisation of outpatient acupuncture services during 2011. A two-part model, which included predisposing, enabling and need factors of Andersen's behavioural model in model 1 and the additional factor of health-related quality of life (HRQOL, EQ-5D Korean index) in model 2, was analysed by logistic analysis to identify determinants of acupuncture service usage among subjects who visited traditional Korean medical clinics.
Results:
The higher frequency of acupuncture service usage among patients who visited traditional Korean medical clinics was associated with gender, age, number of chronic diseases, physical disabilities and HRQOL of the subjects.
Conclusions:
This study shows that the important determinants of the frequency of acupuncture treatment utilisation are gender, age, number of chronic diseases and the presence of physical disabilities. Our findings contribute to understanding the characteristics of patients who use acupuncture treatment and may be used as a basic resource for related policy making by government officials and medical professionals.
