Association between having a primary care physician and health behavioral intention in Japan: results from a nationwide survey

Abstract

Abstract Introduction Introducing a primary care physician (Kakaritsuke-I: KI) system to improve the efficiency of the health care system has been controversial in Japan. This study aimed to determine the relevance of KI to an individual’s health behavioral intentions. Methods We used data from a nationwide, population-based internet survey (N = 5,234) to conduct a cross-sectional regression analysis. Additionally, we used a propensity score matching method to mitigate the potential endogenous biases inherent in the decision to have a KI. Results KI was positively associated with various behavioral intentions. For example, the probabilities of intending to eat a well-balanced diet and engaging in moderate exercise were 12.8 (95% confidence interval [CI]:9.5–16.1) percentage points and 7.2 (95% CI: 3.9–10.4) percentage points higher, respectively, among those with a KI than among those without a KI. A KI equally increased the likelihood of getting vaccinated against coronavirus (in November 2021) by 7.5 (95% CI: 5.2–9.8) percentage points. Conclusions Although further analysis is needed to examine the effect of KI on health, the results of this study suggest the potential benefits of policy measures to promote the KI system.