Student and Faculty Publications
Publication Date
4-1-2022
Journal
Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care
Abstract
CONTEXT: Health care utilization informs us about the utility of services which are available. We have a paucity of studies related to health care utilization among elderly in India.
AIMS: The aim of this study is to find out utilization of health care services by elderly (≥60 years), pattern, factors associated with, and perception of the elderly population regarding facilitators and barriers for the same.
SETTINGS AND DESIGN: A community based cross-sectional, observational study was conducted in a resettlement colony of East Delhi.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: A pretested, semi-structured, and interviewer-administered questionnaire was used. Duration of data collection was November 2018 to January 2020.
STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED: For quantitative variables, mean, median, proportion, Chi-square test, binary logistic regression using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS), and for qualitative variables thematic analysis were done.
RESULTS: The study included 288 study participants. Although utilization of health care services in last 15 days among elderly is 90%, it was also found that 69% of the elderly consulted a licensed medical practitioner. A private facility was visited by 58% of the study participants. Female gender (OR: 1.97;
CONCLUSIONS: Considering the unique characteristics of this age group, a shift from facility to community-based approach may be considered. Efforts may be made to create elderly friendly health facilities.
Keywords
Elderly friendly health facilities, health care, utilization
Comments
PMID: 35516719