Open AccessFactors Affecting People's Preferences of Visiting a Kakaritsukei (Home‐doctor)
Author(s) -
Sekine Sayaka,
Komatsu Kenichi,
Matsushima Dai,
Takeshima Taro,
Ae Ryusuke,
Fujiwara Shinji,
Matsushima Eriko,
Okayama Masanobu,
Kaiji Eiji
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
general medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1883-6011
pISSN - 1346-0072
DOI - 10.14442/general.11.71
Subject(s) - medicine , test (biology) , odds ratio , family medicine , confidence interval , preference , odds , medical home , logistic regression , primary care , paleontology , pathology , economics , biology , microeconomics
Objectives To determine factors related to peoples' preference for visiting home‐doctors when experiencing new health problems. Method A questionnaire survey was conducted of people receiving annual health checkups in municipalities in the vicinity of Jichi Medical University Hospital. We surveyed personal characteristics, test equipment, having of a home‐doctor, and answers to an assumed scenario (asking about willingness to visit a home‐doctor in case of getting certain health problems). According to the responses to the scenario, we divided the subjects into two groups (a home‐doctor group: visiting a home‐doctor; and a specialist group: not visiting a home‐doctor) and statistically compared the two groups. Results In the analytic sample of 1,829, the home‐doctor group numbered 1,097 individuals (60%) and the specialist group numbered 732 individuals (40%). The home‐doctor group statistically had more home‐doctors than the specialist group (adjusted odds ratio, 95% confidence interval: 2.47, 2.00–3.05). More home‐doctors in the home‐doctor group had test equipment than home‐doctors in the specialist group: Gastrointestinal test equipment (gastroscopy, colonoscopy, or ultrasonography) (adjusted odds ratio, 95% confidence interval: 1.39, 1.06–1.83). Conclusion We revealed two factors relating to the preference for visiting home‐doctors: First, those people had home‐doctors, and, second, the home‐doctors had test equipment.