The Effect of Ghost Month Belief on Elective Surgery in Taiwan

ASIA unversity > 醫學暨健康學院 > 健康產業管理學系 > 健康管理組 > 博碩士論文 > Item 310904400/92216

Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://asiair.asia.edu.tw/ir/handle/310904400/92216

Title:	The Effect of Ghost Month Belief on Elective Surgery in Taiwan
Authors:	Chen, Chiu-Liang
Contributors:	健康產業管理學系健康管理組
Keywords:	lunar festival;ghost month;proximal femur fracture;total knee replacement;linear mixed model;longitudinal data;health insurance
Date:	2015
Issue Date:	2015-10-16 03:38:48 (UTC+0)
Publisher:	亞洲大學
Abstract:	Purpose: Many cultures believe in ghost and sociocultural factors affect healthcare seeking behaviors in many ways. Superstitions and lunar Chinese festivals play important roles in Taiwanese surgical decision. We investigate the influence of lunar January, July, and December on the operation numbers of emergent surgery and elective surgery in Taiwan from 2000 to 2011. Methods: Computerized population-based data of the operation numbers of proximal femur fracture and total knee replacement (TKR) in each lunar month from 2000 to 2011 was extracted from National Longitudinal Health Insurance Database in Taiwan. We investigate the correlation of operation number with gender and lunar month in accordance with the surgical type and location of the patient. The linear mixed model was utilized to examine the differences of operation number between the lunar January, July, and December with other lunar months. Results: Controlling the location of patients, the operation number for proximal femur fracture in lunar January, July, and December is consistent with other lunar months, except for a significant peak in January in urban (p=.053) and rural area (p=.000); the reduction of TKR number is significant in urban and rural area. Controlling the factor of gender, the operative number for femur fracture in lunar July and December shows no difference (p>.05); however, it is higher in January at both genders. (p=.002 in male; p=.039 in female) In TKR, the surgical number is significant reduced in lunar January, July, and December, except for no difference (p=.828) of the male in lunar January. Conclusions: The emergent surgery of proximal femur fracture is not influenced by ghost-month and Chinese New Year effect because the patients’ safety overrides the sociocultural belief. The dip in TKR number in ghost month and lunar December is significantly different compared with other lunar months. The traditional ghost-month belief and lunar Chinese New Year exert a profound impact on large sections of the population in Taiwan. Sociocultural effect may contribute to a large extent about decision of TKR surgery in lunar January, July, and December.
Appears in Collections:	[健康管理組] 博碩士論文

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