Healthcare-Seeking Behaviors Among Medicare Beneficiaries by Functional Hearing Status.

ABSTRACT: Objective: Hearing loss is associated with higher health expenditures and poor healthcare utilization. This study aims to build on these findings by characterizing the association between hearing status and healthcare-seeking behaviors among Medicare beneficiaries. Methods: Cross-sectional log-binominal regression was used to assess the association between self-report hearing and healthcare-seeking behaviors (avoidance or delay of care, personal health concerns, and sharing health status) using the 2016 Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey (N = 12,140). Results: Beneficiaries with trouble hearing had significantly higher risks of avoiding and delaying health care compared to those without trouble hearing. Conversely, trouble hearing was not associated with concer

SUBMITTER: Lin HH 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8627647 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature