Family Health Behaviors
Mathijs De Vaan (Assistant professor at the University of California, Berkeley)

There is substantial variation in how patients consume health care, even net of health status of those patients. This has important implications for the financial status and health of these patients. In this talk I will present two studies, both of which examine how some of the variation in health care consumption is driven by relationships in the family household. In the first study, I explore how opioid consumption may be driven by opioid consumption of others in the household. By unpacking the possible mechanisms at the household level, I demonstrate how two identically sick patients may end up receiving very different treatments. In a second study, I examine how adverse health events of one household member shift the health care utilization patterns of others in the household. Both of these studies demonstrate that the utilization of health care is strongly driven by the social contexts in which people are embedded. I conclude by discussing implications for theory and practice. 

This event is free and open to the public. Lunch and light refreshments will be provided. All are welcome!

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The Networks and Time Workshop Series is part of the Paul F. Lazarsfeld Lecture Series sponsored by INCITE (Interdisciplinary Center for Innovative Theory and Empirics).

Knox Hall is located on West 122nd Street between Broadway and Claremont (606 West 122nd Street, New York, NY 10027).

For inquiries about Networks and Time, please contact Eugene Grey (eg2646@columbia.edu) or Seungwon Lee (sl4443@columbia.edu).