eprintid: 3212
rev_number: 5
eprint_status: archive
userid: 1
dir: disk0/00/00/32/12
datestamp: 2020-06-30 10:21:11
lastmod: 2020-06-30 10:21:11
status_changed: 2020-06-30 10:21:11
type: thesis
metadata_visibility: show
sword_depositor: 1
creators_name: Ausma, Yaron, I
creators_id: S2984571
creators_email: i.y.ausma@student.rug.nl
title: The impact of Socio-economic Status on Self-assessed Health in Switzerland
ispublished: unpub
full_text_status: public
abstract: Health inequalities within populations is a current problem practically all governments are dealing with. Over time, the living environment has improved, as well as many developments in the medical field are made. Yet inequalities between different socio-economic classes persist (Marmot, 2005). Socioeconomic status (SES) is an important concept which should be taken into account in policy making aimed at tackling health inequalities. This is because SES is not merely an influencer of subsequent health-risk behaviours, but a direct predictor of health (Link & Phelan, 1995; Brunner, 2017). In the case of Switzerland, research on the direct relation between SES and health has only partly been conducted. The aim of this thesis is therefore study this relationship with the following research question:
‘’What is the influence of socioeconomic status on the development of self-assessed health status in Switzerland?’’
In order to question this relation, data from the Swiss Household Panel was utilized. The sample consisted of 9479 cases, with which two ordinal regressions have been conducted. In the first model, the relation between self-assessed health status and the SES variables income and education was analysed. For the second model, the health behaviour variables physical activity and smoking were added, in order to monitor the mediating nature of these variables on relation between the self-assessed health and SES.
It was concluded that SES significantly influences self-assessed health status. Respondents with low education or low income had a lower probability to have a higher self-assessed health status than middle education and income, and vice versa for the respondents with a high education or income. Furthermore, the addition of health behaviour variables did not result in considerable changes in the relation between SES and self-assessed health status.
date: 2019
pages: 25
thesis_type: bachelor
degree_programme: SGP
tutors_name: Remund, A.P.P.
tutors_organization: Fac. Ruimtelijke wetenschappen, Basiseenheid Demografie
tutors_email: A.P.P.Remund@rug.nl
security: validuser
keywords_local: Socio-economic Status
keywords_local: Self-assessed Health
keywords_local: Health Behaviour
language_iso: en
agreed_repository: yes
date_issued: 2020-06-30
citation:   Ausma, Yaron, I  (2019) The impact of Socio-economic Status on Self-assessed Health in Switzerland.  Bachelor thesis.   
document_url: https://frw.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/3212/1/BachelorThesis_YaronAusma_s2984571.pdf