Abstracts of research poster presentationSession I: Health services and provider behavior50. Socio-Economic Factors That Affect Perceived Health Status of Turkish Adolescents
Section snippets
Purpose
Some researchers suggest that health experience during adolescence has short- and long-term implications for the individual and for the society. The aim of the present study was to determine the relationship between perceived health status and socio-economic factors.
Methods
The international version of the Health Behavior in School-aged Children 2005/2006 survey questionnaire was used as the data collection instrument in this study. Students were sampled using a stratified cluster sampling procedure. School was the primary sampling unit. The sample comprised 5,552 randomly selected 6th, 8th, and 10th grade students (11, 13, and 15 years of age, respectively) who attended 268 randomly selected classes in 165 randomly selected primary and high schools in 26 cities,
Results
Of the 5,510 students, 1,020 (18.5%) reported that they were not feeling healthy. In logistic regression analyses, being female, being 15 years of age, living in the eastern region of the country, perceived low family socio-economic status and living in a less affluent family were related to perceived poor health.
Conclusions
These results showed that there are inequalities in health among Turkish adolescents related to gender, age, place of residence and family's socio-economic status. Prevention strategies need to take into account the social influences and inequalities in health that exist for this age group.
Sources of Support
Turkish Pediatric Association, Research Found of Istanbul University.