Authors

Saswat Panda, Department of Health Policy and Management, College of Public Health, University of Georgia
Koichiro Otani, Department of Health Policy and Management, College of Public Health, University of GeorgiaFollow
Janani R. Thapa, Department of Health Policy and Management, College of Public Health, University of GeorgiaFollow

Weight Status and Satisfaction With Healthcare Received in the U.S. And Georgia

Abstract

Background: Two-thirds of the U.S. population is overweight or obese, and, in Georgia, adult obesity rates are among the highest. Obesity is a risk factor for diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and some types of cancer, and adherence to treatment of such disease conditions is affected by patients’ perception of healthcare received. The present study examined the association between weight status and satisfaction with healthcare received in the U.S. and in Georgia.

Methods: The association between weight status and satisfaction with healthcare received in the U.S. and Georgia was examined using multiple logistic regression analyses, controlling for demographic and other healthcare-related variables. The data used were from the 2013 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) dataset.

Results: There were 265,468 complete cases for the U.S., 66% (181,911) were overweight or obese. The odds of being very satisfied with healthcare received was lower for the underweight, overweight, and obese groups by 11.8% (p <0.001), 2.4% (p = 0.022), and 10.1% (p <0.001), respectively, compared to the normal group. Of the 5,947 complete cases for Georgia, 62% (3698) were overweight or obese. The odds of being very satisfied with healthcare received was lower for the overweight and obese groups by 15.1% (p = 0.023) and 18.3% (p = 0.006), respectively, compared to the normal group.

Conclusions: The probability of being very satisfied with healthcare received is lower for obese and overweight patients. Improvements in healthcare services provided to these individuals are needed to ensure satisfaction and adherence to treatment of chronic diseases, including weight loss treatment and management.

First Page

287

Last Page

293

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.

Recommended Citation

Panda, Saswat; Otani, Koichiro; and Thapa, Janani R. (2016) "Weight Status and Satisfaction With Healthcare Received in the U.S. And Georgia," Journal of the Georgia Public Health Association: Vol. 5: No. 3, Article 14.
DOI: 10.20429/jgpha.2016.050314
Available at: https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/jgpha/vol5/iss3/14