IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/socmed/v68y2009i2p260-265.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Are self-reports of health and morbidities in developing countries misleading? Evidence from India

Author

Listed:
  • Subramanian, S.V.
  • Subramanyam, Malavika A.
  • Selvaraj, Sakthivel
  • Kawachi, Ichiro

Abstract

Self-reported measures of poor health and morbidities from developing countries tend to be viewed with considerable skepticism. Examination of the social gradient in self-reported health and morbidity measures provides a useful test of the validity of self-reports of poor health and morbidities. The prevailing view, in part influenced by Amartya Sen, is that socially disadvantaged individuals will fail to perceive and report the presence of illness or health-deficits because an individual's assessment of their health is directly contingent on their social experience. In this study, we tested whether the association between self-reported poor health/morbidities and socioeconomic status (SES) in India follows the expected direction or not. Cross-sectional logistic regression analyses were carried out on a nationally representative population-based sample from the 1998 to 1999 Indian National Family Health Survey (INFHS); and 1995-1996 and 2004 Indian National Sample Survey (INSS). Four binary outcomes were analyzed: any self-reported morbidity; self-reported sickness in the last 15 days; self-reported sickness in the past year; and poor self-rated health. In separate adjusted models, individuals with no education reported higher levels of any self-reported, self-reported sickness in the last 15 days, self-reported sickness in the last year, and poor self-rated health compared to those with most education. Contrary to the prevailing thesis, we find that the use of self-rated ill-health has face validity as assessed via its relationship to SES. A less dismissive and pessimistic view of health data obtained through self-reports seems warranted.

Suggested Citation

  • Subramanian, S.V. & Subramanyam, Malavika A. & Selvaraj, Sakthivel & Kawachi, Ichiro, 2009. "Are self-reports of health and morbidities in developing countries misleading? Evidence from India," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 68(2), pages 260-265, January.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:68:y:2009:i:2:p:260-265
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277-9536(08)00539-X
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to

    for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. repec:cup:apsrev:v:98:y:2004:i:01:p:191-207_00 is not listed on IDEAS
    2. S V Subramanian & George Davey Smith & Malavika Subramanyam, 2006. "Indigenous Health and Socioeconomic Status in India," PLOS Medicine, Public Library of Science, vol. 3(10), pages 1-11, October.
    3. Subramanian, S.V. & Nandy, S. & Irving, M. & Gordon, D. & Lambert, H. & Smith, G.D., 2006. "The mortality divide in India: The differential contributions of gender, caste, and standard of living across the life course," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 96(5), pages 818-825.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Ila Patnaik & Renuka Sane & Ajay Shah & S V Subramanian, 2023. "Distribution of self-reported health in India: The role of income and geography," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 18(1), pages 1-18, January.
    2. Subhrendu Pattanayak & Shubhayu Saha & Pravash Sahu & Erin Sills & Ashok Singha & JuiChen Yang, 2010. "Mine over matter? Health, wealth and forests in a mining area of Orissa," Indian Growth and Development Review, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 3(2), pages 166-185, September.
    3. Lucky Singh & Perianayagam Arokiasamy & Prashant Kumar Singh & Rajesh Kumar Rai, 2013. "Determinants of Gender Differences in Self-Rated Health Among Older Population," SAGE Open, , vol. 3(2), pages 21582440134, May.
    4. Alfredo R. Paloyo, 2014. "Co-Pay and Feel Okay: Self-Rated Health Status After a Health Insurance Reform," Social Science Quarterly, Southwestern Social Science Association, vol. 95(2), pages 507-522, June.
    5. Clouston, Sean A.P. & Quesnel-Vallée, Amélie, 2012. "The role of defamilialization in the relationship between partnership and self-rated health: A cross-national comparison of Canada and the United States," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 75(8), pages 1342-1350.
    6. Khaled Makhloufi & Bruno Ventelou & Mohammad Abu-Zaineh, 2015. "Have health insurance reforms in Tunisia attained their intended objectives?," International Journal of Health Economics and Management, Springer, vol. 15(1), pages 29-51, March.
    7. Siddhivinayak Hirve & Johan Oud & Somnath Sambhudas & Sanjay Juvekar & Yulia Blomstedt & Stephen Tollman & Stig Wall & Nawi Ng, 2014. "Unpacking Self-Rated Health and Quality of Life in Older Adults and Elderly in India: A Structural Equation Modelling Approach," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 117(1), pages 105-119, May.
    8. H. Nicolás Acosta-González & Oscar D. Marcenaro-Gutiérrez, 2021. "The Relationship Between Subjective Well-Being and Self-Reported Health: Evidence from Ecuador," Applied Research in Quality of Life, Springer;International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies, vol. 16(5), pages 1961-1981, October.
    9. Ellen Melbye Langballe & Vegard Skirbekk & Bjørn Heine Strand, 2023. "Subjective age and the association with intrinsic capacity, functional ability, and health among older adults in Norway," European Journal of Ageing, Springer, vol. 20(1), pages 1-10, December.
    10. Mulcahy, Patrick & Mahal, Ajay & McPake, Barbara & Kane, Sumit & Ghosh, Prabir Kumar & Lee, John Tayu, 2021. "Is there an association between public spending on health and choice of healthcare providers across socioeconomic groups in India? - Evidence from a national sample," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 285(C).
    11. Fjolla Kondirolli & Naveen Sunder, 2022. "Mental health effects of education," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 31(S2), pages 22-39, October.
    12. Kapteyn, Arie & Wah, Saw Htay, 2016. "Challenges to small and medium-size businesses in Myanmar: What are they and how do we know?," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 1-22.
    13. T. N. Srinivasan & V. R. Muraleedharan & Bhanu Pratap, 2017. "Morbidity in India since 1944," Indian Economic Review, Springer, vol. 52(1), pages 3-35, December.
    14. Adeline Delavande & Jinkook Lee & Seetha Menon, 2017. "Eliciting Survival Expectations of the Elderly in Low-Income Countries: Evidence From India," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 54(2), pages 673-699, April.
    15. Swaminathan, Harini & Sharma, Anurag & Shah, Narendra G., 2019. "Does the relationship between income and child health differ across income groups? Evidence from India," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 79(C), pages 57-73.
    16. Azharuddin Akhtar & Indrani Roy Chowdhury, 2023. "The socioeconomic inequity in healthcare utilization among individuals with cardiovascular diseases in India," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 32(5), pages 1000-1018, May.
    17. sowmya, 2015. "Health Shocks and Short-Term Consumption GrowthAuthor-Name: Sowmya Dhanaraj," Working Papers 2015-112, Madras School of Economics,Chennai,India.
    18. Dodd, Warren & King, Nia & Humphries, Sally & Little, Matthew & Dewey, Cate, 2016. "Self-reported morbidity and health service utilization in rural Tamil Nadu, India," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 161(C), pages 118-125.
    19. Isaac Addai & Chris Opoku-Agyeman & Sarah Amanfu, 2014. "Exploring Predictors of Subjective Well-Being in Ghana: A Micro-Level Study," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 15(4), pages 869-890, August.
    20. M.D. Azharuddin Akhtar & Nadeem Ahmad & Indrani Roy Chowdhury, 2020. "Measuring Socio-Economic Inequality in Self-Reported Morbidity in India: Decomposition Analysis," Review of Development and Change, , vol. 25(1), pages 89-111, June.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Jayanta Kumar Bora & Rajesh Raushan & Wolfgang Lutz, 2019. "The persistent influence of caste on under-five mortality: Factors that explain the caste-based gap in high focus Indian states," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 14(8), pages 1-20, August.
    2. June Y T Po & S V Subramanian, 2011. "Mortality Burden and Socioeconomic Status in India," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 6(2), pages 1-8, February.
    3. Jayanta Kumar Bora & Rajesh Raushan & Wolfgang Lutz, 2018. "Contribution of Education to Infant and Under-Five Mortality Disparities among Caste Groups in India," VID Working Papers 1803, Vienna Institute of Demography (VID) of the Austrian Academy of Sciences in Vienna.
    4. Abhishek Singh & Praveen Kumar Pathak & Rajesh Kumar Chauhan & William Pan, 2011. "Infant and Child Mortality in India in the Last Two Decades: A Geospatial Analysis," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 6(11), pages 1-19, November.
    5. Ajmer, Sumela & Rahaman, Margubur & Rana, Md Juel & Sheikh, Illias, 2023. "Contextualising under-five deaths in Bihar, India: Insights from primary and secondary data," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 144(C).
    6. Chandan Kumar & Prashant Kumar Singh & Rajesh Kumar Rai, 2012. "Under-Five Mortality in High Focus States in India: A District Level Geospatial Analysis," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 7(5), pages 1-15, May.
    7. Satrughan Behera & Atish Kumar Dash & Rathi Kanta Kumbhar, 2023. "Disparities in the Health and Well-being of Scheduled Tribes and Non-Scheduled Tribes Populations in India," Shanlax International Journal of Economics, Shanlax Journals, vol. 12(1), pages 69-77, December.
    8. T. N. Srinivasan & V. R. Muraleedharan & Bhanu Pratap, 2017. "Morbidity in India since 1944," Indian Economic Review, Springer, vol. 52(1), pages 3-35, December.
    9. Prashant Kumar Singh & Rajesh Kumar Rai & Lucky Singh, 2012. "Examining the Effect of Household Wealth and Migration Status on Safe Delivery Care in Urban India, 1992–2006," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 7(9), pages 1-12, September.
    10. Mansour Farahani & S. V. Subramanian & David Canning, 2010. "Effects of state‐level public spending on health on the mortality probability in India," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 19(11), pages 1361-1376, November.
    11. Prashant Kumar Singh, 2013. "Trends in Child Immunization across Geographical Regions in India: Focus on Urban-Rural and Gender Differentials," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 8(9), pages 1-11, September.
    12. Bandita Boro & Nandita Saikia, 2020. "A qualitative study of the barriers to utilizing healthcare services among the tribal population in Assam," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(10), pages 1-14, October.
    13. Nandita Saikia & Moradhvaj Moradhvaj, 2020. "Socioeconomic patterns and determinants of adult mortality due to external-causes in India: Analysis of nationally-representative, population-based survey data," VID Working Papers 2004, Vienna Institute of Demography (VID) of the Austrian Academy of Sciences in Vienna.
    14. Sahoo, Anil Kumar & Madheswaran, S, 2014. "Healthcare utilisation behaviour in India: Socio-economic disparities & the effect of health insurance," Working Papers 317, Institute for Social and Economic Change, Bangalore.
    15. Kennedy, Jonathan J. & King, Lawrence P., 2011. "Understanding the conviction of Binayak Sen: Neocolonialism, political violence and the political economy of health in the central Indian tribal belt," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 72(10), pages 1639-1642, May.
    16. G. Naline & Brinda Viswanathan, 2017. "Predictors of Age-Specific Childhood Mortality in India," Working Papers 2017-167, Madras School of Economics,Chennai,India.
    17. Niels-Hugo Blunch & Nabanita Datta Gupta, 2014. "Social Networks and Health Knowledge in India: Who You Know or Who You Are?," Economics Working Papers 2014-24, Department of Economics and Business Economics, Aarhus University.
    18. Nandita Saikia & Domantas Jasilionis & Abhishek Singh & Faujdar Ram, 2013. "Explaining the rural-urban gap in infant mortality in India," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 29(18), pages 473-506.
    19. Srinivas Goli & Riddhi Doshi & Arokiasamy Perianayagam, 2013. "Pathways of Economic Inequalities in Maternal and Child Health in Urban India: A Decomposition Analysis," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 8(3), pages 1-8, March.
    20. Pathak, Praveen Kumar & Singh, Abhishek, 2011. "Trends in malnutrition among children in India: Growing inequalities across different economic groups," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 73(4), pages 576-585, August.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:68:y:2009:i:2:p:260-265. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/315/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.