Psychosocial working conditions and the utilization of health care services
2011

Job Stress and Health Care Utilization

Sample size: 29110 publication 10 minutes Evidence: moderate

Author Information

Author(s): Azagba Sunday, Sharaf Mesbah F

Primary Institution: Concordia University

Hypothesis

Is there an association between job-related stress and the utilization of health care services?

Conclusion

Job strain may be positively associated with the utilization of health care services.

Supporting Evidence

  • High job strain is associated with a 26% increase in GP visits.
  • High job strain is associated with a 27% increase in specialist visits.
  • Results are robust to the inclusion of various confounding factors.

Takeaway

If people have stressful jobs, they might go to the doctor more often because stress can make them feel sick.

Methodology

A zero inflated negative binomial regression was used to analyze health care utilization data from the Canadian National Population Health Survey.

Potential Biases

Self-reported data may introduce bias in health care utilization reporting.

Limitations

The study may not control for all potential confounders, and the outcome variables are self-reported.

Participant Demographics

The sample includes adults aged 18-65, with 48% female and a variety of educational and income levels.

Statistical Information

P-Value

p<0.05

Confidence Interval

95% CI = 1.19-1.31

Statistical Significance

p<0.05

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

10.1186/1471-2458-11-642

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