title: Beyond income, access, and knowledge: factors explaining the education gradient in prevention among older adults with diabetes and hypertension in Latin America.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  While the education gradient in prevention of chronic conditions is well documented, contributing factors remain underexplored. The contribution of income, knowledge and management of illness, market prices, cognitive ability, ability to act, perception about the future, and psychosocial constraints to the education gradient in prevention is examined.
  
  
  METHODS
  To solve problems of unobservable factors that influence prevention and illness severity, we estimate the role of each component of the education gradient on prevention using data on diabetes and hypertension from five Latin American countries.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Overall, these components explain 50% to 70% of the education gradient in prevention, with income being the most important.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Cognitive ability and ability to act capture an important part of the education gradient in prevention whereas knowledge about illness explains little. Medicine individualized to patients' cognitive ability and ability to act could improve adherence to prevention protocols among patients with chronic conditions.
authors.affiliation: Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Antonio J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Trujillo
authors.forename: Lisa K
authors.initials: LK
authors.lastname: Fleisher
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002908:Chronic Disease; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000517:prevention & control*; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000517:prevention & control*; D007182:Income / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D007843:Latin America; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012648:Self Care / Q000523:psychology*
keywords: Latin America; cognitive function; diabetes; health behaviors; health services