Factors associated with health service use amongst young adults aged 20-30 working in the building industry

Sample:

A convenience sample of young people attending the Cuba Street Festival who worked in the building industry.

Data collection:

Questionnaire (paper format); 3 sections –

1. sociodemographic data
2. health service use data
3. quality of life data

All data were self reported.

The SF-36 quality of life tool contains 36 items that assess patients’ health status and its impact on their lives.

The tool is made up of eight subscales

• physical functioning
• role limitations due to physical problems
• bodily pain
• general health perceptions
• vitality
• social functioning
• role limitations due to emotional problems
• mental health

which can be aggregated to two summary scores

• Physical Component
• Mental Component

There is also a single SF-36 question item that asks about recent health status

• Excellent/ Very Good/ Good/ Fair/ Poor

Assessment Task

Analysis plan

You are to complete the following tasks below using the data provided in the attached Excel spreadsheet.

Only the two summary scores for the SF-36 Physical and Mental Health and Health Status have been provided.

Please note:

this is a fictitious dataset created for the educational purposes of this assignment, the data are not real.

2025_HLTH_521_Ass1_Part_B_data.xlsx Download 

1. Create a table using descriptive statistics to describe the sample.

Hint: How you might see a table in a journal article describing the participants in this fictitious study.

2. Name two variables that you would recode for analysis purposes.

Hint: You are not expected to create any new variables in the excel file. Briefly suggest which variables you would recode and why.

3. Outline Your Analysis Plan

Examine three aspects of the relationship between socio-economic / demographic factors and:

• Health service use
  or
• Quality of life

Your plan should include:

• The variables you will use
• The specific statistical test for each analysis
• The reason for choosing each test

Note:

• One test should involve categorical data
• One test should involve numerical data