Factors associated with self-medication in children and the decomposition of rural-urban disparities in China

BMC Public Health

Table 1 Characteristics of the study sample: children, primary caregivers, and household in Chengdu of China, stratified, by rural-urban location (n = 2798)

Characteristics	Urban areas		Rural areas
Characteristics	n	%	n	%	P Value
Total	1262	45.1	1536	54.9
Children
Gender					0.007
Girls	540	42.8	736	47.9
Boys	722	57.2	800	52.1
Age (years)					< 0.001
0–2	641	50.8	507	33.0
3–6	621	49.2	1029	67.0
Having medical insurance					< 0.001
No	226	17.9	107	7.0
Yes	1036	82.1	1429	93.0
Children having unhealthy eating habits					< 0.001
No	862	68.3	841	54.8
Yes	400	31.7	695	45.2
Children with chronic diseases					0.001
No	1199	95.0	1496	97.4
Yes	63	5.0	40	2.6
Children being sick in the 2 weeks prior to the survey					< 0.001
No	1207	95.6	1213	79.0
Yes	55	4.4	323	21.0
Children hospitalized in prior year					< 0.001
No	1199	95.0	1395	90.8
Yes	63	5.0	141	9.2
Primary caregivers
Gender					0.019
Female	1078	85.4	1358	88.4
Male	184	14.6	178	11.6
Age (years)					< 0.001
< =29	199	15.8	314	20.4
30--44	347	27.5	327	21.3
45--59	384	30.4	577	37.6
> =60	332	26.3	318	20.7
Education					< 0.001
Primary school or below	283	22.4	697	45.4
Secondary or High school	741	58.7	745	48.5
College or above	238	18.9	94	6.1
Occupation					< 0.001
Unemployment	330	26.1	214	13.9
Nonmanual work	718	56.9	250	16.3
Manual work	16	1.3	1020	66.4
Retirement	198	15.7	52	3.4
Marital status					0.006
Single	129	10.2	112	7.3
Married	1133	89.8	1424	92.7
Primary caregivers often acquire health knowledge					< 0.001
No	575	45.6	1015	66.1
Yes	687	54.4	521	33.9
Household
Monthly household income per capita, Yuan					< 0.001
< =1000	90	7.1	1211	78.8
1001–3000	539	42.7	316	20.6
> 3000	633	50.2	9	0.6
Walking time from home to the nearest medical institution					< 0.001
< =10 min	1024	81.1	840	54.7
> 10 min	238	18.9	696	45.3

ISSN: 1471-2458