Household health and medical care consumption decisions considering intertemporal uncertainty

To assist residents in exploring the optimal household health and medical care consumption decision-making strategies in an intertemporal uncertain environment, a consumption decision model based on a three-dimensional (3D) path planning PSO-GA-ACO was constructed. The results showed significant differences in the average optimal paths for household health and medical care consumption decisions among residents with different consumption preferences during the three different periods of the Covid-19 pandemic. During the Covid-19 period, the gap in household health and medical care consumption narrowed among residents with different consumption preferences, especially between steady and impulsive consumers. When comparing the post-Covid-19 period with the pandemic period, the monthly health and medical care consumption amounts decreased for both conservative and impulsive consumers, while it continued to rise for steady consumers. The 3D path planning PSO-GA-ACO algorithm improved the speed and accuracy of searching for optimal solutions and better described the decision-making behavior of household health and medical consumption compared to the traditional 3D path planning algorithms PSO, GA, and ACO. This study not only provides optimal household health and medical care consumption decision-making strategies for residents facing complex and uncertain environments but also offers scientific evidence for healthcare manufacturers and suppliers to take effective production and supply actions.