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Cross-border movement of older patients: a descriptive study on health service use of Japanese retirees in Thailand

Overview of attention for article published in Globalization and Health, March 2017
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Title
Cross-border movement of older patients: a descriptive study on health service use of Japanese retirees in Thailand
Published in
Globalization and Health, March 2017
DOI 10.1186/s12992-017-0241-9
Pubmed ID
Authors

Yumiko Miyashita, Chutima Akaleephan, Nima Asgari-Jirhandeh, Channarong Sungyuth

Abstract

Thailand's policy to promote long-stay tourism encourages Japanese retirees to relocate to Thailand. One concern of such an influx is the impact of these elderly foreign residents on the Thai health system. This study aims to reveal the current use of and needs for health services amongst Japanese retirees residing in various locations in Thailand. In collaboration with nine Japanese self-help clubs in Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, and Phuket, questionnaire surveys of Japanese long-stay retirees were conducted from January to March 2015. The inclusion criteria were being ≥ 50 years of age and staying in Thailand for ≥30 days in the previous 12 months while the main exclusion criteria included relocation by company, relocation due to marriage, or working migrants. The mean age of the 237 eligible participants was 68.8, with 79.3% of them being male, 57.8% having stayed in Thailand for ≥5 years, 63.3% having stayed in Thailand for ≥300 days in the previous 12 months and 33% suffering from chronic diseases or sequelae. Of the 143 who had health check-ups in the previous 12 months, 48.3% did so in Thailand. The top 3 diseases treated either in Thailand or Japan in the previous 12 months were dental diseases (50 patients), hypertension (44 patients), and musculoskeletal disorders (41 patients), with the rate of treatment in Thailand standing at 46.0, 47.7, and 65.9%, respectively. Of the 106 who saw a doctor in Thailand in the same period, 70.8% did so less than once a month. Only 23.2% of the participants preferred to receive medical treatment for serious conditions in Thailand. However, this number rose to 32.9% for long-term care (LTC) use. The usage of Thai health services amongst Japanese long-stay retirees is currently limited as they prefer going back to Japan for health screenings and treatment of chronic or serious diseases. However, the number of Japanese residents requiring health services including LTC and end-of-life care is expected to increase. The potential impact of promoting long-stay tourism on the Thai public health should be acknowledged and investigated by the Thai government, including the tourism authority.

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Mendeley readers

Mendeley readers

The data shown below were compiled from readership statistics for 85 Mendeley readers of this research output. Click here to see the associated Mendeley record.

Geographical breakdown

Country Count As %
Unknown 85 100%

Demographic breakdown

Readers by professional status Count As %
Researcher 15 18%
Student > Master 15 18%
Student > Doctoral Student 6 7%
Lecturer 5 6%
Student > Ph. D. Student 5 6%
Other 9 11%
Unknown 30 35%
Readers by discipline Count As %
Medicine and Dentistry 16 19%
Nursing and Health Professions 13 15%
Social Sciences 12 14%
Immunology and Microbiology 2 2%
Business, Management and Accounting 2 2%
Other 8 9%
Unknown 32 38%
Attention Score in Context

Attention Score in Context

This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 1. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 09 March 2017.
All research outputs
#18,536,772
of 22,958,253 outputs
Outputs from Globalization and Health
#1,030
of 1,108 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#235,116
of 308,016 outputs
Outputs of similar age from Globalization and Health
#21
of 21 outputs
Altmetric has tracked 22,958,253 research outputs across all sources so far. This one is in the 11th percentile – i.e., 11% of other outputs scored the same or lower than it.
So far Altmetric has tracked 1,108 research outputs from this source. They typically receive a lot more attention than average, with a mean Attention Score of 21.9. This one is in the 1st percentile – i.e., 1% of its peers scored the same or lower than it.
Older research outputs will score higher simply because they've had more time to accumulate mentions. To account for age we can compare this Altmetric Attention Score to the 308,016 tracked outputs that were published within six weeks on either side of this one in any source. This one is in the 12th percentile – i.e., 12% of its contemporaries scored the same or lower than it.
We're also able to compare this research output to 21 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one is in the 1st percentile – i.e., 1% of its contemporaries scored the same or lower than it.