Table 2.
Association between selected factors and seeking medical care, and seeking medical care within 3 days based on valid responses to most recent illness episode while working in Singapore
| Factor | No. who fell sick | No. who saw a doctor (%*) | p-value | No. who saw a doctor within 3 days (%*) | p-value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Age in years |
21 to 29 |
177 |
156 (88) |
0.258† |
95 (54) |
0.845† |
| |
30 to 39 |
84 |
70 (83) |
|
43 (51) |
|
| |
40 and above |
10 |
10 (100) |
|
6 (60) |
|
|
Nationality |
Indian |
137 |
119 (87) |
0.538† |
78 (57) |
0.391† |
| |
Bangladeshi |
108 |
96 (89) |
|
52 (48) |
|
| |
Myanmar |
26 |
21 (81) |
|
14 (54) |
|
|
Marital status |
Single |
171 |
148 (87) |
0.729† |
91 (53) |
0.668† |
| |
Married |
94 |
82 (87) |
|
49 (52) |
|
| |
Widowed/Separated |
4 |
4 (100) |
|
3 (75) |
|
|
No. of people supported |
3 or less |
60 |
51 (85) |
0.783‡ |
37 (62) |
0.017‡ |
| |
4 to 6 |
139 |
124 (89) |
|
77 (55) |
|
| |
7 or more |
60 |
52 (87) |
|
24 (40) |
|
|
Industry |
Shipyard/Marine |
215 |
187 (87) |
0.976† |
109 (51) |
0.544† |
| |
Construction |
35 |
30 (86) |
|
20 (57) |
|
| |
Others |
16 |
14 (88) |
|
10 (63) |
|
|
Highest education |
Primary or less |
29 |
27 (93) |
0.606‡ |
17 (59) |
0.469‡ |
| |
Secondary |
124 |
107 (86) |
|
67 (54) |
|
| |
Post-secondary |
117 |
102 (87) |
|
60 (51) |
|
|
Basic monthly salary |
S$499 or less |
90 |
78 (87) |
0.899‡ |
33 (37) |
0.002‡ |
| |
$500 to $999 |
138 |
120 (87) |
|
84 (61) |
|
| |
$1,000 or more |
40 |
35 (88) |
|
24 (60) |
|
|
Average working hrs/wk |
Less than 45 hours |
67 |
57 (85) |
0.654‡ |
32 (48) |
0.292‡ |
| |
45 to 65 hours |
137 |
120 (88) |
|
74 (54) |
|
| |
More than 65 hours |
65 |
57 (88) |
|
37 (57) |
|
|
No. of rest days/mth |
2 days or less |
121 |
101 (83) |
0.026‡ |
63 (52) |
0.393‡ |
| |
3 to 4 days |
91 |
78 (86) |
|
45 (49) |
|
| |
5 or more days |
56 |
54 (96) |
|
34 (61) |
|
|
Duration in Singapore |
2 years or less |
89 |
74 (83) |
0.277‡ |
45 (51) |
0.208‡ |
| |
3 to 4 years |
48 |
43 (90) |
|
21 (44) |
|
| |
5 or more years |
130 |
115 (88) |
|
76 (58) |
|
|
Healthcare insurance plan |
Yes |
81 |
73 (90) |
0.538† |
45 (56) |
0.847† |
| |
No |
111 |
94 (85) |
|
57 (51) |
|
| |
Do not know |
79 |
69 (87) |
|
37 (47) |
|
|
Type of symptoms |
Fever |
135 |
123 (91) |
0.066† |
88 (65) |
<0.001† |
| |
Cough |
109 |
99 (91) |
0.165† |
66 (61) |
0.045† |
| |
Blocked/runny nose |
93 |
78 (84) |
0.252† |
49 (53) |
0.969† |
| |
Sore throat |
57 |
48 (84) |
0.475† |
34 (60) |
0.233† |
| |
Stomach ache |
45 |
39 (87) |
0.920† |
24 (53) |
0.876† |
| |
Body aches/joint pains |
62 |
54 (87) |
0.923† |
28 (45) |
0.145† |
| |
Injuries |
32 |
27 (84) |
0.595† |
18 (56) |
0.667† |
| |
Skin problems |
39 |
34 (87) |
0.963† |
20 (51) |
0.851† |
|
Severity of symptoms |
Not serious at all |
88 |
78 (89) |
0.192‡ |
50 (57) |
0.434‡ |
| |
A little serious |
75 |
69 (92) |
|
40 (53) |
|
| |
Quite serious |
53 |
41 (77) |
|
23 (43) |
|
| |
Very serious |
24 |
21 (88) |
|
13 (54) |
|
| Extremely serious | 23 | 19 (83) | 12 (52) | |||
*As % of all who had illness episode while working in Singapore; p-values by †chi-squared test and ‡chi-squared test for trend.