Being too busy with work or other commitments is the top reason why Connecticut residents delayed or did not get medical care in the past year, according to a recent survey.
About 53% of the people answering the survey said they were too busy to take the time to seek medical care. The other reasons included being worried about the cost (50%), they didn’t think the problem was serious enough (46%), they couldn’t get an appointment soon enough (44%), their health plan wouldn’t pay for the treatment (33%), and the doctor or hospital wouldn’t accept their health insurance (22%).
The DataHaven Community Wellbeing Survey seeks to provide information about Connecticut that is not available through other data sources. The survey asks Connecticut residents questions about living conditions, physical and mental health, their neighborhood and satisfaction with the government. The survey has information on the participants, such as age, gender, race, educational level, income and more.
The groups with the highest rates of delayed health care due to being too busy are higher earners and young adults.
More than half of individuals in nearly every income bracket reported delaying care because they were busy. However, 71% of the highest earners reported being too busy to seek health care at least once in the past year — 16% more than the second-largest group.
Residents in almost every geographic region also reported delaying care because they were busy. In urban core towns, like Bridgeport and Hartford, 52.8% said they were too busy to get health care. Urban periphery towns, like Windham and Stamford, follow at 52.4%. Suburban towns and rural areas reported, respectively, 54.1% and 49.1% of people delaying health care. The towns with the highest rates of people delaying health care because they were too busy were wealthy towns like Westport and Greenwich, with 62%.
Age was also a key factor in whether people decide to delay or avoid medical care in the past year. Younger adults are more likely to postpone medical visits due to being busy, while older adults are less likely to delay care for work or other commitments.
This trend is also seen when participants were asked if they delayed care because they believed the issue wasn’t “serious enough.” Among adults aged 18 to 34, 64% reported delaying care for this reason, compared to only 23% of those aged 65 and older.
Gender differences also play a role. While 42% of men said they delayed care because they didn’t think the problem was serious enough, this figure rises to 50% among women.
The cost of health care has become a concern mostly for Connecticut residents that come from out of the United States, with over half of them saying that costs have been one of the reasons why they have delayed or avoided medical care in the past year.