{"title":"Inpatient healthcare utilization among formerly married adults in India: Evidence from the Longitudinal Ageing Study in India (LASI-1)","authors":"Saurabh Singh, Akancha Singh, Neha Shri","doi":"10.1016/j.archger.2025.105859","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>India has been on the brink of rapid socio-economic changes and these changes have manifested themselves through improvements in health and overall living standards of the general population. Although several health strategies and policies have addressed the equitable distribution of health care in India, not many studies have been undertaken on this topic, especially among formerly married older adults. The aim of this paper is to evaluate income related-inequalities in healthcare utilization among formerly married older population in India. This study utilizes individual level data from the first wave of the Longitudinal Ageing Study in India. Logistic regression was employed to examine the effect of the socio-economic characteristics on the health seeking behavior of the formerly married older adult population. The magnitude of socio-economic inequity in health care utilization was quantified using Wagstaff decomposition analysis. The regression results revealed that with higher levels of education, the odds of getting inpatient health care utilization decreased. For instance, the health care utilization was 32 % less among individuals with 10+ years of schooling than those who did not have any formal level of education [OR: 0.68; 95 % C.I.:0.52–0.88]. The odds of inpatient health care utilization was higher among those who had morbidity [one morbidity, OR:1.98; 95 % C.I.:1.68–2.36 & multimorbidity OR: 2.68; 95 % C.I.:2.25–3.20]. Additionally, presence of multi-morbidity (83 %) and geographical regions (50 %) were two of the largest contributors to inequality in healthcare utilization. Findings from the current study point towards the need for having improved social security systems in place to protect the households from distress financing and reducing inequalities.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8306,"journal":{"name":"Archives of gerontology and geriatrics","volume":"135 ","pages":"Article 105859"},"PeriodicalIF":3.5000,"publicationDate":"2025-04-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Archives of gerontology and geriatrics","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0167494325001165","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"GERIATRICS & GERONTOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
India has been on the brink of rapid socio-economic changes and these changes have manifested themselves through improvements in health and overall living standards of the general population. Although several health strategies and policies have addressed the equitable distribution of health care in India, not many studies have been undertaken on this topic, especially among formerly married older adults. The aim of this paper is to evaluate income related-inequalities in healthcare utilization among formerly married older population in India. This study utilizes individual level data from the first wave of the Longitudinal Ageing Study in India. Logistic regression was employed to examine the effect of the socio-economic characteristics on the health seeking behavior of the formerly married older adult population. The magnitude of socio-economic inequity in health care utilization was quantified using Wagstaff decomposition analysis. The regression results revealed that with higher levels of education, the odds of getting inpatient health care utilization decreased. For instance, the health care utilization was 32 % less among individuals with 10+ years of schooling than those who did not have any formal level of education [OR: 0.68; 95 % C.I.:0.52–0.88]. The odds of inpatient health care utilization was higher among those who had morbidity [one morbidity, OR:1.98; 95 % C.I.:1.68–2.36 & multimorbidity OR: 2.68; 95 % C.I.:2.25–3.20]. Additionally, presence of multi-morbidity (83 %) and geographical regions (50 %) were two of the largest contributors to inequality in healthcare utilization. Findings from the current study point towards the need for having improved social security systems in place to protect the households from distress financing and reducing inequalities.
期刊介绍:
Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics provides a medium for the publication of papers from the fields of experimental gerontology and clinical and social geriatrics. The principal aim of the journal is to facilitate the exchange of information between specialists in these three fields of gerontological research. Experimental papers dealing with the basic mechanisms of aging at molecular, cellular, tissue or organ levels will be published.
Clinical papers will be accepted if they provide sufficiently new information or are of fundamental importance for the knowledge of human aging. Purely descriptive clinical papers will be accepted only if the results permit further interpretation. Papers dealing with anti-aging pharmacological preparations in humans are welcome. Papers on the social aspects of geriatrics will be accepted if they are of general interest regarding the epidemiology of aging and the efficiency and working methods of the social organizations for the health care of the elderly.