Health service utilization following symptomatic respiratory tract infections and influencing factors among urban and rural residents in Anhui, China
Open Access
- 10 December 2019
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Cambridge University Press (CUP) in Primary Health Care Research & Development
- Vol. 20, e150
- https://doi.org/10.1017/s1463423619000896
Abstract
Aim:This study seeks to identify healthcare utilization patterns following symptomatic respiratory tract infections (RTIs) and the variables that may influence these patterns.Background:RTIs are responsible for the bulk of the primary healthcare burden worldwide. Yet, the use of health services for RTIs displays great discrepancies between populations. This research examines the influence of social demographics, economic factors, and accessibility on healthcare utilization following RTIs.Methods:Structured interviews were administered by trained physicians at the households of informants selected by cluster randomization. Descriptive and multivariate binary logistic regression analysis was performed to assess healthcare utilization and associated independent variables.Findings:A total of 60 678 informants completed the interviews. Of the 2.9% informants exhibiting upper RTIs, 69.5–73.9% sought clinical care. Healthcare utilization rates for common cold, influenza, nine acute upper RTIs, and overall RTIs demonstrate statistically significant associations with the variables of age, type of residence, employment, medical insurance, annual food expenditure, distance to medical facilities, and others. The odds ratios for healthcare utilization rates varied substantially, ranging from 0.026 to 9.364. More than 69% of informants with RTIs sought clinical interventions. These findings signify a marked issue with the large amount of healthcare for self-limited RTIs.Keywords
This publication has 36 references indexed in Scilit:
- Viral Aetiology in Adults with Acute Upper Respiratory Tract Infection in Jinan, Northern ChinaJournal of Immunology Research, 2013
- Attitudes of primary care physicians to the prescribing of antibiotics and antimicrobial resistance: a qualitative study from SpainFamily Practice, 2011
- Human Metapneumovirus Subgroup Changes and Seasonality During EpidemicsThe Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal, 2010
- Effect of antibiotic prescribing in primary care on antimicrobial resistance in individual patients: systematic review and meta-analysisBMJ, 2010
- Reduced antibiotic prescribing for acute respiratory infections in adults and childrenBritish Journal of General Practice, 2009
- Respiratory infections for which general practitioners consider prescribing an antibiotic: a prospective studyArchives of Disease in Childhood, 2007
- Determinants of healthcare utilization in Greece: Implications for decision-makingThe European Journal of General Practice, 2007
- Antibiotic use and resistance?proving the obviousThe Lancet, 2005
- Age and Gender Differences in Health Service UtilizationPublished by Oxford University Press (OUP) ,2005
- A community‐based study of respiratory episodes in Melbourne, AustraliaAustralian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, 2003