The Economic Implications of Self-Care: The Effect of Lifestyle, Functional Adaptations, and Medical Self-Care Among a National Sample of Medicare Beneficiaries.

Autor: Stearns, Sally C., Bernard, Shulamit L., Fasick, Sarah B., Schwartz, Robert, Konrad, T. Robert, Ory, Marcia G., DeFriese, Gordon H.
Předmět:
Zdroj: American Journal of Public Health; Oct2000, Vol. 90 Issue 10, p1608-1612, 5p
Abstrakt: Objectives. Self-care includes actions taken by individuals to promote or ensure their health, to recover from diseases or injuries, or to manage their effects. This study measured associations between self-care practices (lifestyle practices, adaptations to functional limitations, and medical self-care) and Medicare expenditures among a national sample of adults 65 years and older. Methods. Regression models of Medicare use and expenditures were estimated by using the National Survey of Sell-Care and Aging and Medicare claims for 4 years following a baseline interview. Results. Lifestyle factors (swimming and walking) and functional adaptations (general home modifications) were associated with reductions in monthly Medicare expenditures over a 12-month follow-up period. Expenditure reductions were found over the 48-month follow-up period for participation in active sports, gardening, and medical self-care. Practices associated with increases in expenditures included smoking, physical exercise (possibly of a more strenuous nature), and specific home modifications. Conclusions. Certain self-care practices appear to have significant implications for Medicare expenditures and presumptively for the health status of older adults. Such practices should be encouraged among older adults as a matter of national health policy. (Am J Public Health. 2000;90:1608-1612) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Databáze: Complementary Index