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Learning Objective 1: The learner will be able to understand the attributes of medical resource utilization in an island’s community.
Learning Objective 2: The learner will be able to understand the impact of health promotion education programs in an island’s community.
Penghu is the largest outlying island in Taiwan. The elderly reached 14.4%, ranking the highest proportion of elderly population in Taiwan. Community-based living was the major form of Penghu district with several community health centers allocation. However, no related studies showed the health behaviors and medical resource utilization of Penghu residents. The purpose of this study was to understand the medical resource utilization and examine the effectiveness of health promotion education programs for a group of middle-aged and elderly residents in a community.
Methods:
A quasi-experimental, one-group pre-and post-test design, and a structured questionnaire were used in this study. A total of 50 residents participated in this study.
Results:
Results showed that 64% of respondents selected medical clinics primarily. Sixty percent of respondents reported blood pressure measurement as the major usage of medical resource. However, only 18% respondents accepted flu shot in the most recent year. The education programs were effective in improving health promotion knowledge and drug use behaviors. A significant correlation was found between perceived health status and health behaviors, especially in terms of health responsibility and health maintenance.
Conclusion:
These results contributed to understanding the attributes of medical resource utilization and the impact of health promotion education programs in an island’s community . Furthermore, the results provided reference value with regards to the implementation of health promotion education in the community.