Schone B, Bednarek HL; Academy for Health Services Research and Health Policy. Meeting.

Abstr Acad Health Serv Res Health Policy Meet. 2001; 18: 11.

Center for Cost and Financing Studies, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, 2101 E. Jefferson St., Suite 500, Rockville, MD 20852, Phone: (301) 594-2059, Fax: (301) 594-2166, E-mail: bschone@ahrq.gov

RESEARCH OBJECTIVE: It is well known in the health services literature that health status is correlated with health insurance coverage, health care utilization, and health care access and satisfaction. Reports of health status typically used in analyses are based on information obtained directly from an individual or from another adult in the household such as a spouse. In this research, we compare self-reported health status with measures obtained via a proxy to determine the impact of differential reporting on health status differences by gender.STUDY DESIGN: The 1996 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey is used to evaluate household reports of physical and mental health status. We first make bivariate comparisons of self versus proxy reported health status by gender. Multiple regression techniques are then used to evaluate the role of differential reporting relative to other correlates of health status. Analyses are conducted separately for the elderly and nonelderly populations.POPULATION STUDIED: Our analysis focuses on a nationally representative sample of married adults ages 21 and over.PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Preliminary analyses indicate that there are significant differences in self versus proxy reports of health, even after controlling for other factors. In particular, it appears that males and females report health status in quite different ways for themselves and each other. These findings indicate that measures of health status differentials may be sensitive to the percentage of self vs. proxy reports of health status in the data. Such findings may contribute to health status differentials that have been observed in the literature.CONCLUSIONS: Controlling for self versus proxy reports of health status may impact the analysis of disparities in health status across gender as well as other population subgroups. Our findings indicate that accounting for such reporting differences may affect analyses of health status disparities.IMPLICATIONS FOR POLICY, DELIVERY, OR PRACTICE: Identifying the impact of self versus proxy health status reports is a potentially important consideration for researchers when using data reported in both manners. In designing and evaluating policies directed at reducing physical and mental health status disparities, policymakers need to account for differences in health status reporting behavior by self and by proxy.PRIMARY FUNDING SOURCE: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality

Publication Types:

• Meeting Abstracts

Keywords:

• Adult
• Aged
• Data Collection
• Delivery of Health Care
• Ego
• Family Characteristics
• Female
• Gender Identity
• Health
• Health Services
• Health Services Accessibility
• Health Services Needs and Demand
• Health Services Research
• Health Status
• Humans
• Insurance, Health
• Male
• Proxy
• Quality of Health Care
• Sex
• economics
• hsrmtgs

Other ID:

• GWHSR0001483

UI: 102273158

From Meeting Abstracts