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Centre for Policy on Ageing | |
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| Perceived control as a buffer in the use of health care services | | Author(s) | Judith G Chipperfield, Loreley Greenslade |
| Journal title | The Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, vol 54B, no 3, May 1999 |
| Pages | pp P146-154 |
| Keywords | Personality ; Self esteem ; Competence ; Adjustment ; Arthritis ; Usage [services] ; Health services ; Canada. |
| Annotation | Gerontologists are increasingly interested in the notion of perceived personal control, since such perceptions can be threatened by age-related changes such as declining health. Although much is known about the central role of perceived control in healthy, successful ageing, less is known of its potential role in contexts such as health service use. This Canadian study examined the link between perceived control and patterns of health service use among older people with arthritis. The authors assessed perceived control during an interview, using both a domain-specific and a global measure, and considered health service use in the subsequent year. Those who perceived low levels of control subsequently were found to use more health services than their high-control counterparts. They visited their general practitioners (GPs) more often, had more laboratory tests, and stayed longer in hospital. This was true, however, only for those who had also reported that their arthritis restricted the things they were able to do. Various interpretations are considered, including the possibility that those with low perceived control are inefficient users, or that those with high perceived control experience a deficiency in health care. (RH). |
| Accession Number | CPA-990826221 A |
| Classmark | DK: DPA: DPB: DR: CLA: QLD: L: 7S |
Data © Centre for Policy on Ageing |
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| ...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing. |
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