Determinants of Self-Rated Health for Adults in Türkiye

Abstract

Objective: Self-rated health as an important health outcome is affected by several factors. It is of great importance to investigate the determinants of self-rated health of individuals in order to obtain better results regarding public health. The purpose of this study was to determine the factors that affect the self-rated health of adults in Türkiye. 
 Methods: Logistic regression analysis was performed to analyze data from the TurkStat’s 2014 Health Survey, with 19,129 people. The independent variables were related to socio-economic characteristics, health problems, lifestyle, and utilisation of healthcare services, while the dependent variable was self-rated health. 
 Results: It was found that younger people, men, and people with higher educational and income levels rated their health status better. The health status of individuals with chronic diseases, mental disorders, sleeping problems and those who did not have a normal range body mass index also rated their health status as poor. However, the self-rated health of people who had no inpatient treatment in the last 12 months and those who took no prescription medicine in the last two weeks was good. 
 Conclusion: This study provided the identification of the most advantaged and disadvantaged groups through determining the factors affecting the health status of adults in Türkiye. To improve the unfavourable condition of disadvantaged individuals, more specific interventions need to be designed and implemented.