THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN WORKING HOURS AND EMPLOYMENT STATUS TO OUTPATIENT CARE IN EAST JAVA: DATA ANALYSIS OF THE 2024 NATIONAL SOCIO-ECONOMIC SURVEY

Abstract

The use of outpatient health services is an important indicator to measure access to health services, but it is still influenced by socioeconomic factors, especially occupational characteristics. Employment status and working hours can be a structural barrier to the use of health services, especially for people who are of working age. This study aims to examine the relationship between working hours, employment status, and the use of outpatient health services in the province of East Java. This study uses an observational analytical design with a cross-sectional approach using data from the 2024 National Socio-Economic Survey (SUSENAS). The analysis was conducted on 10,895 participants using the chi-square test, the wilcoxon test and binary logistic regression. The results of the analysis revealed that education level (p<0.001), employment status (p<0.001) and main working hours (p=0.039) were significantly related to the use of outpatient services. Working individuals had a lower chance of utilizing outpatient services (OR=0.41; 95% CI: 0.28–0.62; p<0.001), as were individuals with longer working hours. Primary (p=0.014) and secondary (p<0.001) education were associated with lower opportunities for utilization of outpatient services, while residential areas showed no significant association (p=0.562). This study concludes that the use of outpatient services is influenced by work dynamics and time constraints, so that health service policies that are more adaptive to the working conditions of the community are needed.