Factors affecting utilization of healthcare services in Australia

Abstract

The health care access rate can highly contribute to society’s living quality, and further influence the general labor productivity and economic growth of a country. However, the health expenditure per person in Australia is very high and not able to decrease immediately, which can gradually impact the proportion of people visiting health care services. Thus, it is important to reveal other important factors influencing health care utilization and seek solutions via the results. This study aimed to reveal the factors associated with the healthcare service utilization in Australia. We first hypothesized that insurance coverage will be the factor with the most contribution. The data, collected from the health survey conducted by the Australian Bureau of Statistics in 1978-1978, were analyzed via regression model and exploratory data analysis. Model comparison was also performed to receive a more accurate conclusion. The overall results showed that factors influencing health conditions, such as higher age, diseases affecting daily activities appeared to have the greatest relevance with utilization rate. Insurance is also a significant factor, but has a lower contribution compared to the health-related ones. The results can act as an important indicator in introducing policies in health care system and enhance citizen’s health conditions.