Sixth, Young (1981) proposed a choice-making model which is based on his
ethnographic studies of health services utilization in Mexico (Figure 6). This model incorporates
four components that are most essential to the individual’s health service choice: 1) perceptions
of gravity. This category includes both the individual’s perception and their social network’s
consideration of illness severity. Gravity is based on the assumption that the culture classifies
illnesses by level of severity; 2) the knowledge of a home treatment. If a person knows of a
home remedy that is efficacious, they will be likely to utilize that treatment before utilizing a
professional health care system. Home remedy knowledge is based on lay referral; 3) the faith in
remedy. This component incorporates the individual’s belief of efficacy of treatment for the
present illness. An individual will not utilize the treatment if they do not believe the treatment is
effective; 4) the accessibility of treatment. Accessibility incorporates the individuals’ evaluation
of the cost of health services and the availability of those services. According to Young, access
may be the most important influence on health care utilization (Wolinsky, 1988b).
Figure 6: Choice-Making Model (Young, 1981)
Identifying Key Concepts of Health Care Utilization Theories and Models
The described health care utilization models and theories contain threads of commonality
via three factors which influence the process of health care seeking: 1) health care access; 2)
culture; and 3) social networks. Access describes the ability to utilize services and incorporates
economics, geographic location, abundance of health services, and physical and social resources.
If health services are not accessible, it is likely that there will be unmet need for health care.
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Next, culture is a complex term referring to values, practices, meanings, and beliefs which are
transmitted from one person to another through the process of enculturation.5
Culture, often
considered a barrier to health services, can influence knowledge and beliefs of illness as well as
the course of treatment for illness. Last, interacting with culture, social networks can also cue an
individual to utilize or abstain from health services and can function in identification of illness
and illness response. While other elements certainly affect health care utilization, exploring
these three concepts is central to understanding determinants of health care utilization.
First, the economic costs of health care seeking include not only payment for treatment,
but also lost productive time, and the expense of transportation. Unless provided with a
subsidized health care plan, persons of lower socioeconomic status can have difficulty affording
the costs associated with utilization of health care, making utilization less likely (Taylor, 2003).
Similarly, due to the expense of transportation and time needed to access medical care, especially
as health care services become more geographically scarce or distant, inaccessibility may
increase (Young & Young-Garro, 1982).
Accessibility of health care is further influenced by physical and social resources. For
instance, in individuals who have suffered debilitating injuries, geographic location can become
an impediment to the use of health services (LaVela, Smith, Weaver, & Miskevics, 2004).
Moreover, beyond physical limitations, social resources are also integral to utilization. Social
resources include family economic capital, social support, and group knowledge of illnesses and
illness treatments. For example, among Taiwanese, Kleinman (1980) found that if an
individual’s family has knowledge of an effective home remedy the person will often attempt
that treatment before utilizing professional health care services. In Kleinman’s study, families in
Taiwan provided social resources, specifically knowledge, of which a lone ill person may not
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have been aware. Thus the knowledge and social support available to an individual can affect
accessibility of specific health care services.
Second, culture shapes not only illness treatment, but also illness recognition, perception
of illness severity, and confidence in the efficacy of specific treatments for specific illnesses.
For example, in many cultures, dementia in elderly is viewed as a normal process of aging; thus
it does not necessitate medical treatment. However, in the United States, dementia is considered
an illness requiring professional medical care (Ikels, 2002). As such, variance in health care
utilization can result due to cultural knowledge and understandings of illness.
Likewise, categories and perceptions of illness are often cultural. Conceptual-
incompatibility is a hypothesis frequently used to explain why members of another culture refuse
to u