The effect of psychological distress on physician utilization: a prospective study.
This paper examines the hypothesis that psychological distress is causally related to physician utilization among enrollees in a prepaid group practice. Measures of distress are constructed from questions included in a servey interview, while the utilization data come from medical records. Distress levels were measured prior to the period of utilization studied. The results show a positive relationship between distress and physician utilization, which persists even when a variety of sociodemographic, attitudinal, and health status variables have been controlled. The results are discussed in terms of a perspective that emphasizes social-psychological needs as triggers for physician utilization
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003710:Demography; D005260:Female; D006305:Health Status Indicators; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010820:Physicians / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013315:Stress, Psychological