Gender preferences, socio-demographic and health risks associated with preferred preventive-promotive benefit packages of health insurance for women in Perak and Selangor, Malaysia

Given the escalating cost of healthcare, Malaysia has to consider implementing social health insurance to provide better financial health protection to the population, especially women. Women are vulnerable to financial distress because they need more complex healthcare needs than men. Therefore,...

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Main Authors: Nurul Azwa Mohd Ismail, Sharifa Ezat Wan Puteh, Khadijah Shamsuddin, Supasit Pannarunothai, Hanin Farhana Kamaruzaman
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia 2020
Online Access:http://journalarticle.ukm.my/15790/
http://journalarticle.ukm.my/15790/1/19.pdf
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author Nurul Azwa Mohd Ismail,
Sharifa Ezat Wan Puteh,
Khadijah Shamsuddin,
Supasit Pannarunothai,
Hanin Farhana Kamaruzaman,
author_facet Nurul Azwa Mohd Ismail,
Sharifa Ezat Wan Puteh,
Khadijah Shamsuddin,
Supasit Pannarunothai,
Hanin Farhana Kamaruzaman,
author_sort Nurul Azwa Mohd Ismail,
building UKM Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description Given the escalating cost of healthcare, Malaysia has to consider implementing social health insurance to provide better financial health protection to the population, especially women. Women are vulnerable to financial distress because they need more complex healthcare needs than men. Therefore, this study will examine the perception among the Malaysian population towards preferred preventive/promotive benefit packages of health insurance for women by analyzing preferences among men and on women’s health services. This study determined respondents’ preferences towards preventive/promotive benefit packages for women using a cross-sectional study conducted in two states; Perak and Selangor from December 2016 to December 2017. This study looked at gender preferences and socio-demographic variables, health risks, and subscription to health insurance to preventive/promotive benefit packages preferences for women. A total of 638 respondents in the 18- to 60-year-old age group were drawn from both genders in this study. Analyzes used logistic regression to determine predictors of preventive/promotive benefit packages preferences for women. The results from the analysis showed that more women (66.7%) significantly preferred preventive/promotive services compared to 58.7% of males (p<0.05). In the multivariate analysis among women, Malay ethnicity (OR 2.42, 95% CI 1.37-4.24), self-employed (OR 6.24, 95% CI 2.41-16.10) and not-working/pensioner (compared to the civil servant; OR 2.71, 95% CI 1.35-5.40), obese (OR 16.24, 95% CI 4.50-58.62), no chronic illness (OR 3.72, 95% 2.01-6.88), and subscribed to health insurance (OR 4.21, 95% CI 1.33-5.52) were the factors associated with women’s preferences towards preventive/promotive benefit packages. Meanwhile, for men, age less than 40-year-old (OR 3.56, 95% CI 1.82-6.95), higher education (OR 3.40, 95% CI 1.77-6.52), self-employed (OR 4.65, 95% CI 2.01-10.72), ex-smoker (OR 5.17, 95% CI 1.42-18.75), heavy physical activity (OR 1.26, 95% CI 1.13-1.52), pre-obese (OR 5.35, 95% CI 2.03-14.05) and obese (compared to underweight; OR 2.28 95% CI 1.18-4.36), and subscribed to health insurance (OR 2.72, 95% CI 1.33-5.52), were associated with men’s preferences towards preventive/promotive benefit packages. The overall results of this study show the importance of socio-demographic factors, health risks, and subscription of health insurance among men and women towards the preferences for women’s benefits packages of health insurance.
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spelling oai:generic.eprints.org:157902020-11-22T15:29:21Z http://journalarticle.ukm.my/15790/ Gender preferences, socio-demographic and health risks associated with preferred preventive-promotive benefit packages of health insurance for women in Perak and Selangor, Malaysia Nurul Azwa Mohd Ismail, Sharifa Ezat Wan Puteh, Khadijah Shamsuddin, Supasit Pannarunothai, Hanin Farhana Kamaruzaman, Given the escalating cost of healthcare, Malaysia has to consider implementing social health insurance to provide better financial health protection to the population, especially women. Women are vulnerable to financial distress because they need more complex healthcare needs than men. Therefore, this study will examine the perception among the Malaysian population towards preferred preventive/promotive benefit packages of health insurance for women by analyzing preferences among men and on women’s health services. This study determined respondents’ preferences towards preventive/promotive benefit packages for women using a cross-sectional study conducted in two states; Perak and Selangor from December 2016 to December 2017. This study looked at gender preferences and socio-demographic variables, health risks, and subscription to health insurance to preventive/promotive benefit packages preferences for women. A total of 638 respondents in the 18- to 60-year-old age group were drawn from both genders in this study. Analyzes used logistic regression to determine predictors of preventive/promotive benefit packages preferences for women. The results from the analysis showed that more women (66.7%) significantly preferred preventive/promotive services compared to 58.7% of males (p<0.05). In the multivariate analysis among women, Malay ethnicity (OR 2.42, 95% CI 1.37-4.24), self-employed (OR 6.24, 95% CI 2.41-16.10) and not-working/pensioner (compared to the civil servant; OR 2.71, 95% CI 1.35-5.40), obese (OR 16.24, 95% CI 4.50-58.62), no chronic illness (OR 3.72, 95% 2.01-6.88), and subscribed to health insurance (OR 4.21, 95% CI 1.33-5.52) were the factors associated with women’s preferences towards preventive/promotive benefit packages. Meanwhile, for men, age less than 40-year-old (OR 3.56, 95% CI 1.82-6.95), higher education (OR 3.40, 95% CI 1.77-6.52), self-employed (OR 4.65, 95% CI 2.01-10.72), ex-smoker (OR 5.17, 95% CI 1.42-18.75), heavy physical activity (OR 1.26, 95% CI 1.13-1.52), pre-obese (OR 5.35, 95% CI 2.03-14.05) and obese (compared to underweight; OR 2.28 95% CI 1.18-4.36), and subscribed to health insurance (OR 2.72, 95% CI 1.33-5.52), were associated with men’s preferences towards preventive/promotive benefit packages. The overall results of this study show the importance of socio-demographic factors, health risks, and subscription of health insurance among men and women towards the preferences for women’s benefits packages of health insurance. Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia 2020-08 Article PeerReviewed application/pdf en http://journalarticle.ukm.my/15790/1/19.pdf Nurul Azwa Mohd Ismail, and Sharifa Ezat Wan Puteh, and Khadijah Shamsuddin, and Supasit Pannarunothai, and Hanin Farhana Kamaruzaman, (2020) Gender preferences, socio-demographic and health risks associated with preferred preventive-promotive benefit packages of health insurance for women in Perak and Selangor, Malaysia. Sains Malaysiana, 49 (8). pp. 1969-1980. ISSN 0126-6039 http://www.ukm.my/jsm/malay_journals/jilid49bil8_2020/KandunganJilid49Bil8_2020.html
spellingShingle Nurul Azwa Mohd Ismail,
Sharifa Ezat Wan Puteh,
Khadijah Shamsuddin,
Supasit Pannarunothai,
Hanin Farhana Kamaruzaman,
Gender preferences, socio-demographic and health risks associated with preferred preventive-promotive benefit packages of health insurance for women in Perak and Selangor, Malaysia
title Gender preferences, socio-demographic and health risks associated with preferred preventive-promotive benefit packages of health insurance for women in Perak and Selangor, Malaysia
title_full Gender preferences, socio-demographic and health risks associated with preferred preventive-promotive benefit packages of health insurance for women in Perak and Selangor, Malaysia
title_fullStr Gender preferences, socio-demographic and health risks associated with preferred preventive-promotive benefit packages of health insurance for women in Perak and Selangor, Malaysia
title_full_unstemmed Gender preferences, socio-demographic and health risks associated with preferred preventive-promotive benefit packages of health insurance for women in Perak and Selangor, Malaysia
title_short Gender preferences, socio-demographic and health risks associated with preferred preventive-promotive benefit packages of health insurance for women in Perak and Selangor, Malaysia
title_sort gender preferences, socio-demographic and health risks associated with preferred preventive-promotive benefit packages of health insurance for women in perak and selangor, malaysia
url http://journalarticle.ukm.my/15790/
http://journalarticle.ukm.my/15790/
http://journalarticle.ukm.my/15790/1/19.pdf