Chronic Diseases, Self-Rated Health Status, Health Care Utilization and Health Insurance Status of Males in a Caribbean nation

Abstract

Previous research which has examined men’s health have not coalesced in a single study chronic illness, self-rated health status, health care seeking behaviour, health insurance coverage and income function. The current study seeks to evaluate the general health status of males and association between chronic illness and particular socioeconomic factors, and model socioeconomic and other determinants of (1) chronic diseases; (2) self-rated health status; (3) health care utilization; (4) health insurance coverage status and (3) income. A total of 3,303 males were extracted from the 2007 Jamaica Survey of Living Conditions (JSLC). The JSLC is an annual cross-sectional probability sample survey which began in 1988. It is a modification of the World Bank’s Living Standard Household Survey. Stepwise logistic and multiple regressions were utilize to establish socioeconomic and other factors which are associated with the particular dependent variable. The prevalence of illness was 12.1% (chronic illness 33%; hypertension, 17.0%; diabetes mellitus, 9.1%). Almost 62% of those with chronic illness visited a health care practitioner in the last 4-weeks; and 72% were 60+ years. The mean age of male who had chronic illness was 66.2 years (SD = 14.2) compared to 31.0 years (27.9) for those with acute conditions. More males in the upper income strata had chronic illness (47.8%) compared to those in the lower socioeconomic strata (34.5%). Two variables emerged as significantly associated with chronic illness (age – OR = 1.03, 95% CI = 1.01 – 1.05; married respondents – OR = 3.32, 95% CI = 1.58 – 6.99). The findings provide valuable information that are critical to the understanding of male’s health and how these can be used to guide policy formulation and future research on men’s health.