Age Differences in Lay Conceptions of Health and Self-Care Responses to Illness

Abstract

AbstractThis paper explores lay health care beliefs and practices. More specifically, the research tests the hypothesis that traditional “popular” health beliefs and self care practices are most likely to be found among older persons. Data were obtained through personal interviews with a randomly selected cross-sectional sample of 524 residents of Winnipeg, Canada. Statistical analysis was intended to assess the relationship between age and lay health care beliefs and practices, and to evaluate the relative explanatory power of age compared to other sociodemographic factors; self-reported health status; and medical care contact. The results suggest that the relationship between age and lay conceptions of health and self-care responses to illness is a rather complex one. Furthermore, respondents' age alone explained little of the variance in any of the dependent measures. Finally, this study revealed that although lay self-care beliefs and behaviour exist, they are not limited to older persons.