Table 2.
Adjusted Models Showing Association Between Socioeconomic Position (SEP) and Health-Seeking Behavior Related to Hearing Loss in Six Stages of Health-Seeking Process
| OR | 95% CI | OR | 95% CI | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Phase A | 1. Self-reported hearing difficultya, n = 8,230 | 2. Told health professional, n = 3,203 | ||
| SEP | 0.87*** | 0.83–0.91 | 0.99 | 0.92–1.07 |
| Gender | ||||
| Female | 0.54*** | 0.50–0.60 | 0.81** | 0.70–0.93 |
| Age group | ||||
| 50–64 | Ref | Ref | ||
| 65–74 | 1.31*** | 1.15–1.49 | 1.19 | 0.98–1.46 |
| 75+ | 2.25*** | 1.95–2.59 | 1.89*** | 1.53–2.33 |
| LR test | χ 2 = 33.05 | p < .001 | χ 2 = 0.04 | p = .842 |
| Phase B | 3. Referral to ear specialist, n = 1,466 | 4. Hearing aid recommendation, n = 1,466 | ||
| SEP | 0.93 | 0.82–1.06 | 0.88* | 0.78–0.99 |
| Gender | ||||
| Female | 1.00 | 0.79–1.28 | 1.00 | 0.80–1.27 |
| Age group | ||||
| 50–64 | Ref | Ref | ||
| 65–74 | 1.35 | 0.95–1.92 | 1.83*** | 1.32–2.54 |
| 75+ | 2.05*** | 1.43–2.93 | 5.11*** | 3.64–7.16 |
| LR test | χ 2 = 1.14 | p = .285 | χ 2 = 4.13 | p = .042 |
| Phase C | 5. Hearing aid obtaineda, n = 818 | 6. Hearing aid use, n = 732 | ||
| SEP | 1.25 | 0.97–1.60 | 1.09 | 0.91–1.32 |
| Gender | ||||
| Female | 1.61 | 0.95–2.75 | 1.20 | 0.82–1.77 |
| Age group | ||||
| 50–64 | Ref | Ref | ||
| 65–74 | 3.02** | 1.45–6.26 | 1.13 | 0.65–1.98 |
| 75+ | 4.21*** | 2.20–8.08 | 1.64 | 0.96–2.79 |
| LR test | χ 2 = 2.85 | p = .092 | χ 2 = 0.90 | p = .343 |
Notes. CI = confidence interval; LR = likelihood ratio; OR = odds ratio. LR test χ 2 and p value of the model comparing adjusted model with SEP to adjusted model without SEP.
All models adjusted for gender, age group, marital status, retirement status, and ownership of private health insurance.
aInteraction effect identified and further described in Table 3.
p value for Wald test, levels of significance: *p < .05. **p < .01. ***p < .001.