Good Perceived Health Status Research Articles

Perceived Health Status and Daily Activity Participation of Older Malaysians

This article investigates the influence of perceived health status on the daily activity participation of older Malaysians. Data from the Survey on Perceptions of Needs and Problems of the Elderly, which was conducted in 1999, were used. The negative binomial regression results show that older persons with good perceived health status reported more varieties of daily activity participation, especially among the uneducated and those with below-average self-esteem. The multinomial logistic regression model suggests that older persons with good perceived health status tended to engage daily in paid work only or with leisure activities, whereas those perceived to have poor health were more likely to engage in leisure activities only or leisure and family role activities. Promotion of a healthy lifestyle at a younger age encourages every person to monitor and take responsibility for their own health, which is a necessary strategy to ensure active participation at an older age, and thus improve their well-being.

Prevalence of depression and depressive symptoms and correlates of depressive symptoms among college students on Jeju Island in Korea

Objectives： The aim of the present study was to determine the prevalence of depression and depressive symptoms, and the correlates of depressive symptoms, and to propose countermeasures for individual depression risk factors among college students.Methods： One university and three colleges in Jeju-do were selected as the study population and a total of 1000 students were selected by multiphasic cluster sampling to represent each department and year within each college. Of the 945 total respondents, 421 were men and 524 were women. The Beck Depression Inventory was used to evaluate depression and the BDI STEN score was used to assess depressive symptoms. Multiple logistic regression analysis was performed for comparisons.Results： The prevalence of depression among male and female students was comparable, at 9.3% and 9.8%, respectively. The prevalence of depressive symptoms among men was 14.4%, while among women the level rose to 26.8%. Tliose with poor life satisfaction scores were significantly more likely to have depressive symptoms than those with good life satisfaction (odds ratio (OR) = 2.62; (95% confidence interval (95% CI), 1.483-4.629). Students over 23 years old were significantly less likely to have low depressive symptoms than those under 18 (OR = 0.439; 95% Cl, 0.247-0.779). Groups with poor body image satisfaction were significantly more likely to have depressive symptoms when compared to respondents who had good body image (OR = 2.847; 95% CI, 1.341-6.045). Students with poor perceived health status were significantly more likely to have depressive symptoms than those with good perceived health status (OR = 2.029; 95%CI, 1.157-3.557).Conclusion： In conclusion, universities and colleges should provide education programs, such as health education that facilitates the development of a healthy body image. In addition, they should focus on various scholarships that could improve satisfaction with student life, especially for alienated students. Furthermore, colleges should help direct students towards engagement in more productive work, and lead social policies away from the dominance of appearance.

Social inequalities in perceived health and the use of health services in a southern European urban area.

People of lower social class have worse health and less access to health services and preventive care. This article describes social class inequalities in health status and use of services, both curative and preventive, in Barcelona, in a country with a national health service. The cross-sectional study uses information from the 1992 Barcelona Health Interview Survey. Social class was designated using an adaptation of the British Registrar General classification. The study variables measured health status, health services utilization, and preventive practices. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were used. Some 88 percent of men in social class I and 81 percent in class V had very good or good perceived health status. For women these figures were 85.2 and 57.6 percent, respectively. Chronic illness increased with lower social class. There were no social class differences in the frequency of physician visits during the two weeks prior to the interview among people with poor perceived health. Some 60.7 percent of women aged over 29 in social class I had periodic cervical smears, but only 32 percent of those in class V; the corresponding figures for mammography were 37.8 and 11.3 percent. The national health service has advantages in terms of access to health services, but more knowledge about the quality of these services is required. The study findings are sufficient to defend the undertaking of equitable health policies, especially in providing access to preventive care for the entire population.