Determinants of self-perceived health for Canadians aged 40 and older and policy implications

Abstract

BackgroundPerceived health status indicates people’s overall perception of their health, including both physical and psychological dimensions. The aim of this study was to examine the determinants of self-perceived health for Canadians aged 40 and older using data from the Canadian Community Health Survey (2010).MethodsMultiple logistic regression models were employed to identify factors associated with self-perceived health in two age groups: Adults aged 65+ and Adults aged 40–64.ResultsWe found that higher income was significantly associated with better health status while chronic conditions and stress were associated with worse health status. In the 40–64 and 65+ age groups, individuals in the highest income bracket were 4.65 and 1.94 times, respectively, more likely to report better health than individuals in the lowest income bracket. The difference in the level of income associated health inequities between the two age groups point to the need for understanding the reasons behind lower inequities among seniors and how much the social protections provided by the Canadian government to seniors contribute to lowering inequities.ConclusionsThough Canada has a national public health insurance system providing coverage to all Canadians, health inequities associated with income persist providing further evidence of the importance of the social determinants of health. Examining the extent of these inequities and what factors influence them helps direct policy attention. In addition to documenting inequities, this paper discusses policy options for reducing the identified inequities.

Association of Poor Self-Perceived Health with Demographic, Socioeconomic and Lifestyle Factors in the Croatian Adult Population

“…As expected, age was strongly associated with poor self--perceived health both in the univariate and multivariate analyses. This was in line with a significant number of other studies, although some studies showed no association between age and self-perceived health or even the opposite effect of the age (Bonner et al, 2017;Menec & Nowicki, 2014;Jerez--Roig et al, 2016;Janković & Simić, 2012).…”

“…ISCED 2011 differentiates nine levels of education: level 0 -No formal education or below, level 1 -Primary education, level 2 -Lower secondary education, 3 -Upper secondary education, 4 -Post-secondary but non-tertiary education, 5 -Short-cycle tertiary education; 6 -Bachelor's or equivalent level; 7 -Master's or equivalent level and 8 -Doctoral or equivalent level. Low education level included ISCED 0-2, medium included ISCED 3-4 and high included ISCED 5-8 (Bonner et al, 2017). Education level was determined according to the highest education level completed based on the International Standard Classification of Education-2011 (ISCED-2011).…”

Factors associated with patient satisfaction towards pharmacy services among out-patients attending public health clinics: Questionnaire development and its application

“…Level of education was also found to have significant interaction with self-perceived health status towards patient satisfaction where patients with higher education who perceived themselves in better health status expressed a higher level of satisfaction. A study based on the Canadian Community Health Survey of over 20,000 adults found that more educated patients tend to report better health [ 30 ]. As healthier people are less likely to need as much medical care and interact with healthcare providers less frequently, they may have less opportunity to experience problems with access to health care and express more satisfaction with the care received [ 29 ].…”

“…to report better health [30]. As healthier people are less likely to need as much medical care and interact with healthcare providers less frequently, they may have less opportunity to experience problems with access to health care and express more satisfaction with the care received [29].…”

Self-rated health among people living with HIV in Spain in 2019: a cross-sectional study

“…Self-rated health is a consolidated indicator related to well-being and quality of life [ 10 ]. It is considered a predictor of morbidity, mortality and health services use [ 11 , 12 ] and has been widely used in health and socio-economic surveys at population level in Europe (for instance, in Denmark, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Iceland and Norway) [ 13 , 14 ].…”