2026 Volume 21 Issue 2 Pages 180-185
Objective: Japan has the fastest aging population globally, with a growing demand for home medical care among older adults. The number of home visits by physicians is regarded as a key process indicator for evaluating the home medical care delivery system. Understanding the social factors affecting home visits by physicians may contribute to more equitable and effective care delivery. This study aimed to investigate the social factors associated with the number of home visits by physicians across 47 prefectures in Japan.
Materials and Methods: This ecological study used 2019 data from the National Database (NDB), Open Data, and other government sources. The outcome was the number of physician home visits per 1,000 people aged ≥65 years. Social variables included the number of home care support clinics/hospitals (HCSCs), population density, proportion of single-elderly-person households, educational attainment, and other factors. Pearson’s correlation coefficients and multiple regression analyses were performed.
Results: Variables with Pearson correlation coefficients ≥0.4 were the number of HCSCs, the proportion of single-elderly-person households, population density, and the percentage of individuals whose highest level of education was college or higher. Multiple regression revealed that the number of HCSCs (β=0.546, P<0.001), population density (β=0.311, P=0.004), and the percentage of individuals whose highest level of education was college or higher (β=0.260, P=0.009) were significantly associated with physician home visits (adjusted R2=0.780).
Conclusion: This study revealed that, in addition to healthcare system indicators such as the number of HCSCs, social determinants, including population density and educational attainment, were significantly associated with the number of physician home visits.
