Institute of Public Health Koprivnica-KriŽevci County, Koprivnica, Croatia.
Scand J Public Health. 2011 May;39(3):272-9. doi: 10.1177/1403494811401476. Epub 2011 Mar 15.
The aim of the study was to compare and analyse the differences in self-reported frequencies of visits paid to physicians and hospitalisation rates, as well as their association with socio-demographic factors and health status self-rated by elderly.
A cross-sectional study was performed in eight districts of five European countries (Finland, Sweden, Ireland, Croatia, and Greece). A total of 3540 persons aged 70 or more were interviewed by trained interviewers. Healthcare service utilisation and its association with demographic characteristics and self-rated health were analysed using descriptive statistical methods, chi-square test, and logistic regression.
Almost 90% of elderly visited a physician in the past year; 50% visited a specialist, while 24% were hospitalised. A visit to a specialist was paid by 70% of the Greek, 50% to 60% of the Croatian, and around 40% of the Irish, the Finnish, and the Swedish elderly. The highest proportion of hospitalisations (32%) was encountered in Greece and the lowest one (20%) in Sweden. Self-rated poor health appears to be the only common denominator associated with increased healthcare utilisation. Younger age stood out as a statistically significant predictor of the likelihood of specialist consults, while older age, male gender, and the synergy of male gender and current single life were disclosed as the predictors of hospitalisation frequency.
Healthcare service utilisation exercised by the elderly across European districts was found to be highly variable and showed a clear distinction between north-western and south-eastern Europe; this is in line with differences in self-rated health.
本研究旨在比较和分析老年人自我报告的就诊频率和住院率的差异，并分析其与社会人口因素和自我评估健康状况的关系。
在五个欧洲国家（芬兰、瑞典、爱尔兰、克罗地亚和希腊）的八个地区进行了一项横断面研究。共有 3540 名 70 岁及以上的老年人接受了经过培训的调查员的访谈。使用描述性统计方法、卡方检验和逻辑回归分析医疗保健服务的利用情况及其与人口统计学特征和自我评估健康的关系。
近 90%的老年人在过去一年中看过医生；50%看过专家，24%住院。希腊 70%的老年人、克罗地亚 50%至 60%的老年人和爱尔兰、芬兰和瑞典约 40%的老年人支付了专家咨询费用。希腊的住院率最高（32%），瑞典的住院率最低（20%）。自我评估健康状况较差似乎是与医疗保健利用增加唯一相关的共同因素。年龄较轻是专家咨询可能性的统计学显著预测因素，而年龄较大、男性和男性与当前单身生活的协同作用则是住院频率的预测因素。
发现欧洲各地区老年人的医疗保健服务利用情况存在很大差异，北欧和东南欧之间存在明显差异；这与自我评估健康状况的差异一致。
