Table 2 Association between selected factors and seeking medical care, and seeking medical care within 3 days based on valid responses to most recent illness episode while working in Singapore
From: Health-seeking behaviour of male foreign migrant workers living in a dormitory in Singapore
Factor | No. who fell sick | No. who saw a doctor (%*) | p-value | No. who saw a doctor within 3 days (%*) | p-value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Age in years | 21 to 29 | 177 | 156 (88) | 0.258† | 95 (54) | 0.845† |
30 to 39 | 84 | 70 (83) | 43 (51) | |||
40 and above | 10 | 10 (100) | 6 (60) | |||
Nationality | Indian | 137 | 119 (87) | 0.538† | 78 (57) | 0.391† |
Bangladeshi | 108 | 96 (89) | 52 (48) | |||
Myanmar | 26 | 21 (81) | 14 (54) | |||
Marital status | Single | 171 | 148 (87) | 0.729† | 91 (53) | 0.668† |
Married | 94 | 82 (87) | 49 (52) | |||
Widowed/Separated | 4 | 4 (100) | 3 (75) | |||
No. of people supported | 3 or less | 60 | 51 (85) | 0.783‡ | 37 (62) | 0.017‡ |
4 to 6 | 139 | 124 (89) | 77 (55) | |||
7 or more | 60 | 52 (87) | 24 (40) | |||
Industry | Shipyard/Marine | 215 | 187 (87) | 0.976† | 109 (51) | 0.544† |
Construction | 35 | 30 (86) | 20 (57) | |||
Others | 16 | 14 (88) | 10 (63) | |||
Highest education | Primary or less | 29 | 27 (93) | 0.606‡ | 17 (59) | 0.469‡ |
Secondary | 124 | 107 (86) | 67 (54) | |||
Post-secondary | 117 | 102 (87) | 60 (51) | |||
Basic monthly salary | S$499 or less | 90 | 78 (87) | 0.899‡ | 33 (37) | 0.002‡ |
$500 to $999 | 138 | 120 (87) | 84 (61) | |||
$1,000 or more | 40 | 35 (88) | 24 (60) | |||
Average working hrs/wk | Less than 45 hours | 67 | 57 (85) | 0.654‡ | 32 (48) | 0.292‡ |
45 to 65 hours | 137 | 120 (88) | 74 (54) | |||
More than 65 hours | 65 | 57 (88) | 37 (57) | |||
No. of rest days/mth | 2 days or less | 121 | 101 (83) | 0.026‡ | 63 (52) | 0.393‡ |
3 to 4 days | 91 | 78 (86) | 45 (49) | |||
5 or more days | 56 | 54 (96) | 34 (61) | |||
Duration in Singapore | 2 years or less | 89 | 74 (83) | 0.277‡ | 45 (51) | 0.208‡ |
3 to 4 years | 48 | 43 (90) | 21 (44) | |||
5 or more years | 130 | 115 (88) | 76 (58) | |||
Healthcare insurance plan | Yes | 81 | 73 (90) | 0.538† | 45 (56) | 0.847† |
No | 111 | 94 (85) | 57 (51) | |||
Do not know | 79 | 69 (87) | 37 (47) | |||
Type of symptoms | Fever | 135 | 123 (91) | 0.066† | 88 (65) | <0.001† |
Cough | 109 | 99 (91) | 0.165† | 66 (61) | 0.045† | |
Blocked/runny nose | 93 | 78 (84) | 0.252† | 49 (53) | 0.969† | |
Sore throat | 57 | 48 (84) | 0.475† | 34 (60) | 0.233† | |
Stomach ache | 45 | 39 (87) | 0.920† | 24 (53) | 0.876† | |
Body aches/joint pains | 62 | 54 (87) | 0.923† | 28 (45) | 0.145† | |
Injuries | 32 | 27 (84) | 0.595† | 18 (56) | 0.667† | |
Skin problems | 39 | 34 (87) | 0.963† | 20 (51) | 0.851† | |
Severity of symptoms | Not serious at all | 88 | 78 (89) | 0.192‡ | 50 (57) | 0.434‡ |
A little serious | 75 | 69 (92) | 40 (53) | |||
Quite serious | 53 | 41 (77) | 23 (43) | |||
Very serious | 24 | 21 (88) | 13 (54) | |||
Extremely serious | 23 | 19 (83) | 12 (52) | |||