Self-care. Substitute, supplement, or stimulus for formal medical care services?

This article examines the relationship between selected self-care practices during an episode of illness and the use of formal medical care. Stimulated by conflicting evidence and assertions, the general question addressed is: "Is self-care a substitute, a supplement, or a stimulus for use of f...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inMedical care Vol. 22; no. 10; p. 950
Main Authors Fleming, G V, Giachello, A L, Andersen, R M, Andrade, P
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States 01.10.1984
Subjects
Adolescent
Adult
Aged
Child
Child, Preschool
Data Collection
Health Services Accessibility
Health Services Research
Hospitalization
Humans
Infant
Middle Aged
Models, Theoretical
Personal Health Services - utilization
Self Care
Self Medication
Socioeconomic Factors
United States
United States
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Summary:This article examines the relationship between selected self-care practices during an episode of illness and the use of formal medical care. Stimulated by conflicting evidence and assertions, the general question addressed is: "Is self-care a substitute, a supplement, or a stimulus for use of formal medical care services?" Multiple Classification Analysis was used in a secondary data analysis of a 1976 nationwide study on access to medical care. The results suggest that self-care users may visit the physician less often and stay fewer days in the hospital, and thus they are expected to have lower expenditures for hospital and physician services. Therefore, the self-care activities examined appear to be substitutes for, rather than supplements or stimuli to, health services utilization. The results must be viewed with some caution due to limitations in the data. However, the results also argue for a greater research emphasis on self-care.
ISSN:0025-7079
1537-1948
DOI:10.1097/00005650-198410000-00007