The relationship between depressive symptoms and health service utilization for elderly people in Taiwan

被引：4

作者：

Tian, Wei-Hua ^{[1
]}

Liu, Tsai-Ching ^{[2
]}

Chen, Chin-Shyan ^{[3
]}

Liu, Li-Fan ^{[4
]}

Tien, Joseph J. ^{[5
]}

机构：

[1] Natl Cheng Kung Univ, Dept Econ, Tainan 701, Taiwan

[2] Natl Taipei Univ, Dept Publ Finance, San Shia 237, New Taipei, Taiwan

[3] Natl Taipei Univ, Dept Econ, San Shia 237, New Taipei, Taiwan

[4] Natl Cheng Kung Univ, Inst Gerontol, Tainan 701, Taiwan

[5] Tamkang Univ, Dept Insurance, Tamsui 251, New Taipei, Taiwan

来源：

HEALTH POLICY | 2012年 / 108卷 / 2-3期

关键词：

Depressive symptoms; Health service utilization; The elderly; Taiwan; LATE-LIFE; SOCIAL SUPPORT; FUNCTIONAL STATUS; PHYSICAL ILLNESS; CARE UTILIZATION; PREVENTIVE CARE; INFORMAL CARE; OLDER-ADULTS; RISK-FACTORS; COSTS;

D O I：

10.1016/j.healthpol.2012.10.005

中图分类号：

R19 [保健组织与事业（卫生事业管理）];

学科分类号：

摘要：

Objective: This study analyzes the relationship between depressive symptoms and the utilization of medical services for elderly people in Taiwan. Methods: Because depressive symptoms and physical health may have a reciprocal relationship, a simultaneous equations model was used by performing a 3-stage least squares (3SLS) regression. The data in this study were obtained from the 2003 Survey of Health and Living Status of the Elderly in Taiwan (SHLSE). Results: The findings show that depressive symptoms have a significantly negative effect on the utilization of outpatient, inpatient, and emergency services. Furthermore, the magnitude of the 3SLS estimates of physical health status in relation to health service utilization is substantially greater than that in the OLS estimates. The results may reveal that people with depressive symptoms may seek healthcare services because of physical discomfort. Conclusions: Those with depressive symptoms may not seek specialty mental treatments, suggesting that policy interventions to monitor the need to care for elderly people with depressive symptoms through primary care services are important in screening and maintaining the mental health of elderly people. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

引用

页码：256 / 267

页数：12