Perceived Neighborhood Social Cohesion and Preventive Healthcare Use

Introduction Neighborhood social cohesion has been linked with better health and health behaviors, but its association with patterns of preventive healthcare use remains understudied. The hypothesis was that people with higher perceived neighborhood social cohesion would display increased use of pre...

Full description

Saved in:

Bibliographic Details
Published in:	American journal of preventive medicine 2017-08, Vol.53 (2), p.e35-e40
Main Authors:	Kim, Eric S., PhD, Kawachi, Ichiro, MD, PhD
Format:	Article
Language:	eng
Subjects:	Aged Breast Neoplasms - prevention & control Cardiovascular Diseases - prevention & control Cholesterol - blood Early Detection of Cancer - methods Early Detection of Cancer - statistics & numerical data Female Health Behavior Humans Influenza, Human - prevention & control Internal Medicine Interpersonal Relations Male Mammography - statistics & numerical data Middle Aged Perception Preventive Health Services - utilization Prospective Studies Prostatic Neoplasms - prevention & control Quality of Life Residence Characteristics - statistics & numerical data Sex Factors United States Vaccination - statistics & numerical data
Online Access:	Get full text
Tags:	Add Tag No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!

Description
Summary:	Introduction Neighborhood social cohesion has been linked with better health and health behaviors, but its association with patterns of preventive healthcare use remains understudied. The hypothesis was that people with higher perceived neighborhood social cohesion would display increased use of preventive healthcare services. Methods Participants (N=7,168) were drawn from the 2006 wave of the Health and Retirement Study—a prospective and nationally representative panel study of American adults aged >50 years—and tracked for one wave (2 years). Analyses were conducted in 2016. Results After adjusting for sociodemographic factors and baseline health, each SD increase in neighborhood social cohesion was associated with a higher likelihood that people would obtain influenza vaccinations (OR=1.09, 95% CI=1.04, 1.15) or cholesterol tests (OR=1.10, 95% CI=1.02, 1.19). Further, women were more likely to receive mammograms/x-rays (OR=1.10, 95% CI=1.01, 1.19) or Pap tests (OR=1.08, 95% CI=1.00, 1.17). However, men were not more likely to receive prostate exams (OR=1.06, 95% CI=0.96, 1.17). Conclusions With additional research, findings from this study may inform the development of new strategies that increase the use of preventive healthcare services and enhance the quality of life among people moving through the ranks of this aging society.
ISSN:	0749-3797 1873-2607