A World View Model of Health Care Utilization

Summary

This article provides a conceptual model illustrating the filtering effect that social factors have on a health care event. Individual, family and social network filters translate the symptom for the patient before and after s/he enters the health care delivery system. Simultaneously, managed care and provider filters shape what resource is provided by the health care provider to the patient. Basic premises are that decision-making about health care utilization is a complex social interaction and that better attention to the social context will increase the likelihood of effective health care occurring.