Medical activity of middle-aged Russians in the «pre-pandemic» and «pandemic» periods

Abstract

Introduction. Solving the health saving problem of middle-aged people in a risk social context is impossible without increasing the level of their medical activity, as well as forming a value attitude to health. Material and methods. The study was conducted on the data of the Russian Longitudinal Monitoring Survey of the National Research University “Higher School of Economics” for 2018–2021. The analysis of statistical data was carried out using the methods of descriptive statistics and correlation analysis, the calculation of the odds ratio and cluster analysis were carried out. Results. Middle-aged Russians are characterized by a low level of medical activity, which is due to their health status. Gender has an impact on the indicators of medical activity: men demonstrate a lower level of medical activity, despite low health indicators. In modern conditions, models of medical activity are varied: from passive practices without prevention to highly active practices combined with preventive examinations. An “inconsistent” model of medical activity with a predominance of self-treatment practices without preventive motives for visiting a doctor is the most common pattern during the COVID-19 pandemic. Limitations. When studying the medical activity of middle-aged Russians in the “pre-pandemic” and “pandemic” periods, 17,631 questionnaires were evaluated during 2018–2021, which is sufficient to achieve the set goal. This study has limitations related to the survey period: data is not available after 2021, but the COVID-19 pandemic has officially ended in May 2023. Conclusion. Insufficient medical activity of the middle age group of the population, especially during crises (including during the pandemic), presents itself as a risk factor for health loss, reduces the ability of institutional medicine to diagnose diseases at an early stage. The predominance of attitudes towards maintaining employment and income among middle-aged people, as well as an independent search for information on the Internet to resolve health issues, increases commitment to self-treatment practices.