Institute of Gerontology, College of Medicine, The National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan.
Health Policy. 2012 Dec;108(2-3):246-55. doi: 10.1016/j.healthpol.2012.08.022. Epub 2012 Sep 27.
Taiwan is now facing an increased prevalence of aging related diseases and escalating healthcare costs. Within the context of the health care system and NHI in Taiwan, the aim of this study was to examine the health profiles of elderly people by using Latent Class Analysis to determine the effects of different health profiles on the health care services utilization and expenditures, and to examine the factors associated with by controlling for the health profiles of elderly people.
Data came from the 2005 National Health Interview Survey in Taiwan. Among those who were interviewed, 2449 elderly individuals with available health indicators were identified, and 1491 of these had complete socio-economic data and linkage to their utilization of health care services from 2004 to 2007 were analyzed.
Four health profiles were identified. The effect of the different health profiles of elderly people on the likelihood of utilization and expenditure on health care services was significant. While comparing with Relative Healthy group, the High Comorbidity group tended to utilize more services in the ambulatory care. The functional impairment group had relatively high probabilities of needing care assistance and the Frail group had higher health care expenditures. Age and gender did not have a significant effect and other associated socio-economic factors were also discussed.
The health status of elderly people includes a variety of health indicators. We suggest that a person-centered approach is needed in order to satisfy needs and forecast expenditures in the future.
台湾目前面临着与老龄化相关的疾病患病率上升和医疗保健成本不断攀升的问题。本研究旨在探讨老年人的健康状况，分析不同健康状况对医疗服务利用和支出的影响，并通过控制老年人的健康状况来探讨相关因素。方法：数据来自台湾 2005 年全国健康访谈调查。在接受访谈的人群中，确定了 2449 名有健康指标的老年人，其中 1491 名老年人具有完整的社会经济数据，并与他们在 2004 年至 2007 年期间的医疗服务利用情况进行了关联分析。结果：确定了 4 种健康状况。老年人不同健康状况对医疗服务利用和支出的可能性的影响是显著的。与相对健康组相比，高合并症组在门诊护理中更倾向于利用更多的服务。功能障碍组需要护理援助的可能性相对较高，而脆弱组的医疗保健支出较高。年龄和性别没有显著影响，还讨论了其他相关社会经济因素。结论：老年人的健康状况包括多种健康指标。我们建议需要采用以人为本的方法，以满足未来的需求并预测支出。
