title: Socioeconomic Position and Health-Seeking Behavior for Hearing Loss Among Older Adults in England.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To examine whether socioeconomic position (SEP) is associated with progression in the health-seeking process for hearing loss.
  
  
  METHODS
  Logistic regression of data from a cross-sectional survey representative of noninstitutionalized, 50 years and older population of England (ELSA wave 2, 2004). Using self-reported hearing difficulty as starting point, we examined the association between SEP and health-seeking behaviors in 6 stages leading to hearing aid acquisition and use.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Higher SEP was associated with lower odds of self-reported hearing difficulty, adjusted odds ratio [OR] = 0.87 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.83-0.91, p < .001). There was marginal negative association between higher SEP and receiving hearing aid recommendation (adjusted OR = 0.88, 95% CI 0.78-0.99, p = .05). SEP was not associated with any other stage of health-seeking behavior.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Among the noninstitutionalized older population of England, SEP-related inequalities exist in the prevalence of self-reported hearing loss. However, SEP is not strongly associated with progression in the remaining stages of health-seeking process during and after an individual's contact with the health system.
authors.affiliation: Department of Population Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK. lenka.benova@lshtm.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Lenka
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Benova
authors.affiliation: Department of Social Policy, The London School of Economics and Political Science, London, UK.
authors.forename: Emily
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Grundy
authors.affiliation: Department of Population Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK.
authors.forename: George B
authors.initials: GB
authors.lastname: Ploubidis
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004739:England / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006310:Hearing Aids / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D034381:Hearing Loss / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000534:rehabilitation; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D015995:Prevalence; D057566:Self Report; D012923:Social Class
keywords: Health-seeking behavior; Hearing loss; Socioeconomic gradient.