Patterns of use and barriers to health care among community-living elderly population in suburban area, Taiwan

Background: In 2007, the number of people aged 65 and older has exceeded 10% of the Taiwan population. Health care for senior citizens is an important, emergent issue.

Objective: The objective of this study is to understand the patterns of use and barriers to health care among the suburban community-living elderly population in Tainan County, Taiwan.

Method: Data were collected through personal surveys of 380 senior residents in Tainan County, Taiwan. The survey included measures of senior's demographic and socio-economic status, perceived health status, and use of outpatient services. In addition, the behavioral model of health services utilization was employed to examine predisposing, enabling, and need factors associated with use of outpatient services among the elderly.

Results and Conclusions: About 44% of the senior residents seek health care two to four times a month. The most common barriers to seeking health care service were: the complexity of seeking care from various specialists (51.1%); taking too many medications prescribed by different specialists (45.0%); and experiencing difficulty selecting the appropriate specialist service for their symptoms (45.3%). The results of this study indicate the emerging need for offering a comprehensive geriatric outpatient service for the elderly. Policy makers and health care providers should carefully design and offer comprehensive health assessments, consultations and treatment to target the health care needs of the aging society.