Factors Associated with Free Hospital Outpatient Service Use among Middle-Aged and Older Urban Homeless Adults in Taipei
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Methods
3. Results
3.1. Demographic Characteristics of the Study Participants
3.2. Hospital Outpatient Department Visits among the Participants
3.3. Determinants of Free Outpatient Visits
4. Discussion
5. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Variable | n (%) |
---|---|
Sex | |
Male | 114 (88.4) |
Female | 15 (11.6) |
Age (years, mean ± SD) | 58.3 ± 7.5 |
Level of education | |
Elementary or less | 36 (27.9) |
Junior high school | 39 (30.2) |
Senior high school | 43 (33.3) |
College and above | 11 (8.6) |
Marital status | |
Single | 66 (51.2) |
Married | 6 (4.7) |
Divorced | 47 (36.4) |
Other | 10 (7.7) |
Employment status | |
Full-time | 18 (14.0) |
Part-time | 58 (44.9) |
None | 53 (41.1) |
Source of income | |
Job earning | 71 (55.1) |
Allowance for the disabled | 15 (11.6) |
Subsidy for low income | 4 (3.1) |
Other | 39 (30.2) |
Usual healthcare provider | |
No | 59 (45.7) |
Yes | 70 (54.3) |
Total score of PHQ-9 a (Mean ± SD) | 12.1 ± 6.5 |
Depression severity b | |
No | 20 (15.5) |
Mild (score 5–9) | 21 (16.3) |
Moderate (score 10–14) | 41 (31.8) |
Moderately severe (score 15–19) | 34 (26.4) |
Severe (score 20–27) | 13 (10.1) |
Medical Department | Number (%); Visits (Mean ± SD) |
---|---|
Free outpatient visits | |
Yes | 105 (81.4) |
No | 24 (18.6) |
Use of free outpatient visits (Mean ± SD) | 5.9 ± 8.1 |
Frequency of outpatient visits | |
<3 (low) | 75 (58.1) |
≥3 (high) | 54 (41.9) |
Use of medical department | |
Psychiatric | 9.14 ± 10.97 |
Gastroenterology | 8.68 ± 10.24 |
Dermatology | 8.63 ± 11.13 |
Orthopedics | 8.48 ± 9.40 |
Dental | 7.91 ± 9.74 |
Cardiovascular | 6.32 ± 4.88 |
Neurology | 5.70 ± 5.78 |
Other | 7.37 ± 8.84 |
Variables | Use of Free Outpatient Visits a | ||
---|---|---|---|
Low; n (%) | High; n (%) | p-Value | |
Sex | 0.204 | ||
Male | 64 (85.3) | 50 (92.6) | |
Female | 11 (14.7) | 4 (7.4) | |
Age (years, mean ± SD) * | 58.5 ± 7.5 | 58.2 ± 7.7 | 0.817 |
Level of education § | 0.878 | ||
Elementary or less | 19 (25.3) | 17 (31.5) | |
Junior high school | 24 (32.1) | 15 (27.8) | |
Senior high school | 25 (33.3) | 18 (33.3) | |
College and above | 7 (9.3) | 4 (7.4) | |
Marital Status § | 0.690 | ||
Single | 41 (54.7) | 25 (46.3) | |
Married | 4 (5.3) | 2 (3.7) | |
Divorced | 24 (32.0) | 23 (42.6) | |
Others | 6 (8.0) | 4 (7.4) | |
Employment status | 0.174 | ||
Full-time | 14 (18.7) | 4 (7.4) | |
Part-time | 33 (44.0) | 25 (46.3) | |
None | 28 (37.3) | 25 (46.3) | |
Usual healthcare provider | 0.006 | ||
No | 42 (56.0) | 17 (31.5) | |
Yes | 33 (44.0) | 37 (68.5) | |
Total score of PHQ-9 (mean ± SD) * | 10.7 ± 6.2 | 14.2 ± 6.4 | 0.002 |
Depression severity b | 0.002 | ||
No | 16 (21.3) | 4 (7.4) | |
Mild | 10 (13.1) | 11 (20.4) | |
Moderate | 30 (40.1) | 11 (20.4) | |
Moderately severe | 16 (21.3) | 18 (33.3) | |
Severe | 3 (4.0) | 10 (18.5) | |
Medication within one year | <0.001 | ||
No | 31 (41.3) | 4 (7.4) | |
Yes | 44 (58.7) | 50 (92.6) | |
Hospitalized within one year | 0.007 | ||
No | 37 (49.3) | 14 (25.9) | |
Yes | 38 (50.7) | 40 (74.1) | |
Frequency of outpatient visits (Mean ± SD) | 2.4 ± 4.3 | 11.9 ± 9.5 | <0.001 |
Number of chronic diseases | <0.001 | ||
≤3 | 40 (53.3) | 11 (20.4) | |
4–5 | 25 (33.3) | 15 (27.8) | |
>5 | 10 (13.4) | 28 (51.8) |
Variables | Unadjusted | Adjusted a | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
OR (95 CI%) | p-Value | OR (95 CI%) | p-Value | |
Sex, female (ref: male) | 0.47 (0.14–1.55) | 0.213 | ||
Age (years) | 1.04 (0.64–1.69) | 0.872 | ||
Level of education (ref: elementary or less) | ||||
Junior high school | 0.70 (0.28–1.75) | 0.444 | ||
Senior high school | 0.81 (0.33–1.96) | 0.633 | ||
College and above | 0.64 (0.16–2.57) | 0.528 | ||
Marital Status (ref: single) | ||||
Married | 0.82 (0.14–4.81) | 0.826 | ||
Divorced | 1.57 (0.74–3.35) | 0.242 | ||
Other | 1.09 (0.28–4.26) | 0.898 | ||
Employment status (ref: no) | ||||
Part-time | 0.85 (0.40–1.79) | 0.667 | ||
Full-time | 0.32 (0.09–1.10) | 0.071 | ||
Usual healthcare provider (ref: no) | 2.77 (1.33–5.77) | 0.006 | 1.67 (0.62–4.46) | 0.309 |
Depression severity § (ref: no) | ||||
Mild | 4.40 (1.10–17.68) | 0.037 | 4.21 (0.8–20.61) | 0.077 |
Moderate | 1.47 (0.40–5.36) | 0.562 | 1.16 (0.25–5.28) | 0.853 |
Moderately severe | 4.50 (1.24–16.28) | 0.022 | 8.02 (0.50–11.41) | 0.273 |
Severe | 13.33 (2.45–72.45) | 0.003 | 9.32 (1.15–56.07) | 0.036 |
Medication within one year (ref: no) | 8.81 (2.88–26.92) | <0.001 | 3.93 (1.06–14.52) | 0.040 |
Hospitalized within one year (ref: no) | 2.78 (1.30–5.94) | 0.008 | 2.06 (0.77–5.52) | 0.150 |
Number of chronic diseases § (ref: ≤3) | ||||
4–5 | 2.18 (0.87–5.50) | 0.098 | 1.06 (0.35–3.21) | 0.913 |
>5 | 10.18 (3.81–27.22) | <0.001 | 1.06 (1.35–13.27) | 0.013 |
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Lin, L.-P.; Wang, L.-Y.; Wang, T.-W.; Chen, Y.-C.; Lin, J.-D. Factors Associated with Free Hospital Outpatient Service Use among Middle-Aged and Older Urban Homeless Adults in Taipei. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18, 5330. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18105330
Lin L-P, Wang L-Y, Wang T-W, Chen Y-C, Lin J-D. Factors Associated with Free Hospital Outpatient Service Use among Middle-Aged and Older Urban Homeless Adults in Taipei. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2021; 18(10):5330. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18105330
Chicago/Turabian StyleLin, Lan-Ping, Li-Yun Wang, Tai-Wen Wang, Yun-Cheng Chen, and Jin-Ding Lin. 2021. "Factors Associated with Free Hospital Outpatient Service Use among Middle-Aged and Older Urban Homeless Adults in Taipei" International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 18, no. 10: 5330. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18105330