Biomedical subjects

Maureen R Benjamins

Publications and source records attributed to Maureen R Benjamins.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Religious influences on preventive health care use in a nationally representative sample of middle-age women.

Despite the many benefits of preventive services, they are often underutilized. Social factors, such as religion, can figure prominently in these discrepancies by either creating barriers or facilitating use. Using data from the Health and Retirement Survey (HRS, 1992-1996), the current study examines the relationship between religious attendance, religious salience, and denomination and three types of female preventive services in a sample of middle-age women (N = 4253). Findings indicate that women who attend religious services more frequently use more mammograms, Pap smears, and self-breast exams. In addition, women belonging to Mainline Protestant or Jewish denominations use certain preventive services more than Evangelical Protestants. Finally, women with higher levels of religious salience are more likely to conduct self-breast exams. These findings add important information to the public health literature concerning factors that influence preventive service use. They also add to the growing field of religion and health research where preventive health care use is emerging as a possible mechanism linking religion to a wide variety of physical health outcomes.

Aged↗

PubMed2006

A local community health survey: findings from a population-based survey of the largest Jewish community in Chicago.

Accurate estimates of health risk factors and outcomes are difficult to obtain for certain ethnic populations. The health of Jewish individuals is particularly hard to determine because of the small group size and because health data rarely include information on religious affiliation. Furthermore, local level health information (for any population subgroup) is limited. To assess health risk factors and outcomes, as well as issues related to access to care, within a Jewish community in Chicago, a group of community agencies and researchers initiated a unique, population-based health survey. Specifically, a three-stage sampling design was used to select a representative sample of 201 adults and 58 children in the most concentrated Jewish neighborhood in the city. Nearly 500 questions were asked, covering a wide variety of demographic, socioeconomic, and health-related topics. The findings revealed that these Jewish individuals were generally as healthy (or healthier) than the average residents of Chicago and the U.S.; however, many serious health concerns still existed. In particular, health problems such as obesity, depression, disability, and domestic violence were common and, in some cases, more prevalent than in the general population. This local level information provides the first accurate estimates of key health variables for the estimated 23,000 Jewish individuals living in this community. This type of data is essential because it enables the efforts and priorities of health and social service providers to be focused on the most pressing health problems. Moreover, this project provides an example for other population subgroups (based on residence, ethnicity, religious affiliation, country of origin, or other characteristics) who would benefit from local level health information.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2006

Religious influences on trust in physicians and the health care system.

OBJECTIVE: Aspects of the patient-physician relationship, such as trust, influence a variety of health behaviors, including adherence to treatment regimens and the use of preventive health services. While several demographic and socioeconomic factors have been found to predict levels of trust in physicians, little is known about the influence of religious beliefs and behaviors. METHODS: The relationship between religion and medical trust was investigated within a nationally representative sample of adults in the United States (n = 1,274). More specifically, multivariate models were used to analyze the associations between religious affiliation, attendance, and strength of affiliation and three types of trust: personal trust in one's physician, general confidence in physicians, and trust in the health care system. RESULTS: Findings reveal that religiously active individuals have higher levels of trust in physicians. For example, individuals who attend religious services frequently (42% of the sample) are significantly more likely to trust their own physician (p < .05) and have higher levels of confidence in physicians in general (p < .01), compared to individuals who never attend. In addition, levels of trust vary by religious denomination with Mainline Protestants, Catholics, and Jews reporting more trust than Evangelical Protestants. For example, Mainline Protestants have more personal trust in their physicians (p < .01), general confidence in physicians (p <.05), and trust in the health care system (p < .05), compared to Evangelical Protestants. CONCLUSIONS: This study is the first to examine religious differences in medical trust. The findings add to the current knowledge on factors associated with trust in health care providers and may help to explain religious differences in the use of preventive services and other health behaviors.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2004

County characteristics and racial and ethnic disparities in the use of preventive services.

BACKGROUND: Studies examining predictors of preventive service utilization generally focus on individual characteristics and ignore the role of contextual variables. To help address this gap in the literature, the present study investigates whether county-level characteristics, such as racial and ethnic composition, are associated with the use of preventive services. METHODS: Data from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey and the Area Resource Files (1996-1998) are used to identify the individual- and county-level predictors of five types of preventive services (n = 49,063). RESULTS: County racial or ethnic composition is associated with the utilization of certain preventive services, net of individual-level characteristics. Specifically, individuals in high percent Hispanic counties are more likely to report cholesterol screenings, while those in counties with more blacks are more likely to have regular mammograms. Moreover, county racial or ethnic composition modifies the relationship between individual race or ethnicity and preventive use. In particular, Hispanic individuals who reside in high percent black counties report higher levels of utilization for most preventive services compared to Hispanics living in other counties. CONCLUSIONS: Physical and social environments are key determinants of health behaviors and outcomes. Future studies should take into account the racial or ethnic composition of an area and how this interacts with individual race or ethnicity when investigating predictors of preventive care use.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Does religion influence patient satisfaction?

OBJECTIVES: To determine if patient satisfaction varies by level of individual religiosity. METHODS: Data from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), a nationally representative sample of older adults in the United States, were used to assess the relationship between religious salience (importance) and patients' satisfaction with their health care encounters. RESULTS: Higher levels of religious salience are significantly related to being very satisfied with one's health care, even after demographic, social, and health variables are taken into account. CONCLUSIONS: Researchers, practitioners, and administrators should be aware that religion may significantly influence how patients rate their health care experiences.

Activities of Daily Living↗