Cookies?
Library Header Image
LSE Research Online LSE Library Services

Socioeconomic position and health-seeking behavior for hearing loss among older adults in England

Benova, Lenka, Grundy, Emily ORCID: 0000-0002-9633-1116 and Ploubidis, George B. (2015) Socioeconomic position and health-seeking behavior for hearing loss among older adults in England. Journals of Gerontology - Series B Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 70 (3). pp. 443-452. ISSN 1079-5014

[img]
Preview
PDF - Published Version
Available under License Creative Commons Attribution.

Download (2MB) | Preview
Identification Number: 10.1093/geronb/gbu024

Abstract

Objective. To examine whether socioeconomic position (SEP) is associated with progression in the health-seeking process for hearing loss. Method. Logistic regression of data from a cross-sectional survey representative of noninstitutionalized, 50 years and older population of England (ELSA wave 2, 2004). Using self-reported hearing difficulty as starting point, we examined the association between SEP and health-seeking behaviors in 6 stages leading to hearing aid acquisition and use. Results. Higher SEP was associated with lower odds of self-reported hearing difficulty, adjusted odds ratio [OR] = 0.87 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.83–0.91, p < .001). There was marginal negative association between higher SEP and receiving hearing aid recommendation (adjusted OR = 0.88, 95% CI 0.78–0.99, p = .05). SEP was not associated with any other stage of health-seeking behavior. Discussion. Among the noninstitutionalized older population of England, SEP-related inequalities exist in the prevalence of self-reported hearing loss. However, SEP is not strongly associated with progression in the remaining stages of health-seeking process during and after an individual’s contact with the health system.

Item Type: Article
Official URL: http://psychsocgerontology.oxfordjournals.org/
Additional Information: © 2014 The Authors © CC BY 3.0
Divisions: Social Policy
Lifecourse, Ageing & Population Health
Subjects: R Medicine > RA Public aspects of medicine
Date Deposited: 04 Jul 2014 14:26
Last Modified: 18 Mar 2024 11:54
Projects: ES/I903224/1, G0802442
Funders: Economic and Social Research Council, Medical Research Council
URI: http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/57506

Actions (login required)

View Item View Item

Downloads

Downloads per month over past year

View more statistics