IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/plo/pone00/0177091.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Impact of geographic accessibility on utilization of the annual health check-ups by income level in Japan: A multilevel analysis

Author

Listed:
  • Misuzu Fujita
  • Yasunori Sato
  • Kengo Nagashima
  • Sho Takahashi
  • Akira Hata

Abstract

Although both geographic accessibility and socioeconomic status have been indicated as being important factors for the utilization of health care services, their combined effect has not been evaluated. The aim of this study was to reveal whether an income-dependent difference in the impact of geographic accessibility on the utilization of government-led annual health check-ups exists. Existing data collected and provided by Chiba City Hall were employed and analyzed as a retrospective cohort study. The subjects were 166,966 beneficiaries of National Health Insurance in Chiba City, Japan, aged 40 to 74 years. Of all subjects, 54,748 (32.8%) had an annual health check-up in fiscal year 2012. As an optimal index of geographic accessibility has not been established, five measures were calculated: travel time to the nearest health care facility, density of health care facilities (number facilities within a 30-min walking distance from the district of residence), and three indices based on the two-step floating catchment area method. Three-level logistic regression modeling with random intercepts for household and district of residence was performed. Of the five measures, density of health care facilities was the most compatible according to Akaike’s information criterion. Both low density and low income were associated with decreased utilization of the health check-ups. Furthermore, a linear relationship was observed between the density of facilities and utilization of the health check-ups in all income groups and its slope was significantly steeper among subjects with an equivalent income of 0.00 yen than among those with equivalent income of 1.01–2.00 million yen (p = 0.028) or 2.01 million yen or more (p = 0.040). This result indicated that subjects with lower incomes were more susceptible to the effects of geographic accessibility than were those with higher incomes. Thus, better geographic accessibility could increase the health check-up utilization and also decrease the income-related disparity of utilization.

Suggested Citation

  • Misuzu Fujita & Yasunori Sato & Kengo Nagashima & Sho Takahashi & Akira Hata, 2017. "Impact of geographic accessibility on utilization of the annual health check-ups by income level in Japan: A multilevel analysis," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 12(5), pages 1-14, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0177091
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0177091
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0177091
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0177091&type=printable
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1371/journal.pone.0177091?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Coughlin, Steven S. & Leadbetter, Steven & Richards, Thomas & Sabatino, Susan A., 2008. "Contextual analysis of breast and cervical cancer screening and factors associated with health care access among United States women, 2002," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 66(2), pages 260-275, January.
    2. Misuzu Fujita & Yasunori Sato & Kengo Nagashima & Sho Takahashi & Akira Hata, 2016. "Income Related Inequality of Health Care Access in Japan: A Retrospective Cohort Study," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 11(3), pages 1-19, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Durr-e-Nayab & Shujaat Farooq & Nabila Kunwal, 2024. "Utilisation Challenges of Public Health Insurance Initiatives: Evidences from Sehat Sahulat Programme (SSP) in Pakistan (Policy)," The Pakistan Development Review, Pakistan Institute of Development Economics, vol. 63(2), pages 247-288.
    2. Sharifah Saffinas Syed Soffian & Azmawati Mohammed Nawi & Rozita Hod & Huan-Keat Chan & Muhammad Radzi Abu Hassan, 2021. "Area-Level Determinants in Colorectal Cancer Spatial Clustering Studies: A Systematic Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(19), pages 1-20, October.
    3. Antonio Paez & Christopher D Higgins & Salvatore F Vivona, 2019. "Demand and level of service inflation in Floating Catchment Area (FCA) methods," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 14(6), pages 1-38, June.
    4. Sarah Nurain Mohd Noh & Suhana Jawahir & Yeung R’ong Tan & Iqbal Ab Rahim & Ee Hong Tan, 2022. "The Health-Seeking Behavior among Malaysian Adults in Urban and Rural Areas Who Reported Sickness: Findings from the National Health and Morbidity Survey (NHMS) 2019," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(6), pages 1-17, March.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Tasuku Okui & Akie Hirata & Naoki Nakashima, 2022. "Association of Esophageal Cancer Mortality with Municipal Socioeconomic Deprivation Level in Japan, 2013–2017: An Ecological Study Using Nationwide Data," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(9), pages 1-9, April.
    2. Yong Kang Cheah & Chor Foon Tang, 2017. "Factors Influencing the use of Preventive Medical Care in Malaysia: Evidence from National Health and Morbidity Survey Data," Asian Economic Journal, East Asian Economic Association, vol. 31(2), pages 119-137, June.
    3. Kanade Ito & Noriko Cable & Tatsuo Yamamoto & Kayo Suzuki & Katsunori Kondo & Ken Osaka & Georgios Tsakos & Richard G. Watt & Jun Aida, 2020. "Wider Dental Care Coverage Associated with Lower Oral Health Inequalities: A Comparison Study between Japan and England," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(15), pages 1-10, July.
    4. Chia-Hsien Chang & Motonobu Sakaguchi & John Weil & Thomas Verstraeten, 2018. "The incidence of medically-attended norovirus gastro-enteritis in Japan: Modelling using a medical care insurance claims database," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 13(3), pages 1-14, March.
    5. Conching, Andie Kealohi Sato & Thayer, Zaneta, 2019. "Biological pathways for historical trauma to affect health: A conceptual model focusing on epigenetic modifications," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 230(C), pages 74-82.
    6. Gil Lacruz, Ana Isabel & Gil Lacruz, Marta & Gorgemans, Sophie, 2014. "Female preventive practices: Breast and smear tests," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 118(1), pages 135-144.
    7. Corallo, Ashley N. & Croxford, Ruth & Goodman, David C. & Bryan, Elisabeth L. & Srivastava, Divya & Stukel, Therese A., 2014. "A systematic review of medical practice variation in OECD countries," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 114(1), pages 5-14.
    8. Vogt, Verena & Siegel, Martin & Sundmacher, Leonie, 2014. "Examining regional variation in the use of cancer screening in Germany," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 110(C), pages 74-80.
    9. Yunwei Gai & Li Feng & Jing Hao, 2017. "Local Labor Market Condition and Influenza Vaccination," Atlantic Economic Journal, Springer;International Atlantic Economic Society, vol. 45(2), pages 181-199, June.
    10. Mubarak Aldosari & Yusnidah Ibrahim & Norlida Binti Abdul Manab & Ebrahim Mohammed Al-Matari & Ebrahim Mohammed Al-Matari & Eqab Aiyadh Alotaibi, 2016. "Linking Cooperative Health Insurance Service Characteristics to Expatriates’ Satisfaction: Mediating Role of Customer Knowledge," International Review of Management and Marketing, Econjournals, vol. 6(4), pages 1013-1019.
    11. Mubarak Aldosari & Yusnidah Ibrahim & Norlida Binti Abdul Manab & Ebrahim Mohammed Al-Matari & Ebrahim Mohammed Al-Matari & Eqab Aiyadh Alotaibi, 2016. "Linking Cooperative Health Insurance Service Characteristics to Expatriates’ Satisfaction: Mediating Role of Customer Knowledge," International Review of Management and Marketing, Econjournals, vol. 6(4), pages 1013-1019.
    12. Sayaka Sakoda & Masaoki Tamura & Naohiko Wakutsu, 2022. "The Global Financial Crisis and Healthcare Inequality in Japan," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 161(1), pages 273-286, May.
    13. Akemi Nishide & Misuzu Fujita & Yasunori Sato & Kengo Nagashima & Sho Takahashi & Akira Hata, 2017. "Income-Related Inequalities in Access to Dental Care Services in Japan," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 14(5), pages 1-10, May.
    14. Zimmermann, Kristine & Khare, Manorama M. & Wright, Cherie & Hasler, Allison & Kerch, Sarah & Moehring, Patricia & Geller, Stacie, 2015. "Application of a gender-based approach to conducting a community health assessment for rural women in Southern Illinois," Evaluation and Program Planning, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 27-34.
    15. Tomoko Kobayashi & Kaori Honjo & Ehab Salah Eshak & Hiroyasu Iso & Norie Sawada & Shoichiro Tsugane & for the Japan Public Health Center-based Prospective Study for the Next Generation (JPHC-NEXT) Stu, 2017. "Work–family conflict and self-rated health among Japanese workers: How household income modifies associations," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 12(2), pages 1-12, February.
    16. Mubarak Aldosari & Yusnidah Ibrahim & Norlida Binti Abdul Manab & Ebrahim Mohammed Al-Matari & Ebrahim Mohammed Al-Matari & Eqab Aiyadh Alotaibi, 2016. "Towards a Better Understanding of Foreign Workers’ Satisfaction with Cooperative Health Insurance: The Role of Service Characteristics, Financing, Choice of Plan and Customer Knowledge," International Review of Management and Marketing, Econjournals, vol. 6(2), pages 270-276.
    17. Yuan, Yaqi, 2021. "Public satisfaction with health care system in 30 countries: The effects of individual characteristics and social contexts," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 125(10), pages 1359-1366.
    18. Erika Obikane & Daisuke Nishi & Akihiko Ozaki & Tomohiro Shinozaki & Norito Kawakami & Takahiro Tabuchi, 2023. "Association between Poverty and Refraining from Seeking Medical Care during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Japan: A Prospective Cohort Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(3), pages 1-14, February.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0177091. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: plosone (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.