EDUCATION, MANAGED HEALTH CARE EXPERIENCES, AND HEALTH OUTCOMES

Community household survey data tested the intervening role (between education and reported health outcomes) of adaptations of Antonovsky’s (1987) tripartite sense of coherence (SOC). Comprehensibility was indexed by clarity and responsiveness of insurance representatives, manageability was measured by problems reported with physician office visits, and meaningfulness was assessed with household members’ community health activities. SOC measures did not link education to either impairments or to health lifestyle scores. Comprehensibility and manageability linked education with self-reported well-being. Education and manageability each reduced impairments, while education, manageability, and meaningfulness increased lifestyle totals. Results help elucidate the influence of education on health.