Epidemiology and Disease Control Division, Ministry of Health and Population, Kathmandu, Nepal.
Health Office, Nuwakot, Ministry of health, Bagmati Province, Hetauda, Nepal.
PLoS One. 2022 Sep 7;17(9):e0273101. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0273101. eCollection 2022.
Morbidity increases with age and enhances the burden of health problems that result in new challenges to meet additional demands. In the ageing population, health problems, and health care utilization should be assessed carefully and addressed. This study aimed to identify chronic morbidities, health problems, health care seeking behaviour and health care utilization among the elderly.
We conducted a community based, cross-sectional study in urban areas of the Sunsari district using face-to-face interviews. A total of 530 elderly participants were interviewed and selected by a simple proportionate random sampling technique.
About half, 48.3%, elderly were suffering from pre-existing chronic morbidities, of which, 30.9% had single morbidity, and 17.4% had multi-morbidities. This study unfurled more than 50.0% prevalence of health ailments like circulatory, digestive, eye, musculoskeletal and psychological problems each representing the burden of 68.7%, 68.3%, 66.2%, 65.8% and 55.7% respectively. Our study also found that 58.7% preferred hospitals as their first contact facility. Despite the preferences, 46.0% reported visiting traditional healers for treatment of their ailments. About 68.1% reported having difficulty seeking health care and 51.1% reported visits to a health care facility within the last 6 months period. The participants with pre-existing morbidity, health insurance, and an economic status above the poverty line were more likely to visit health care facilities.
Elderly people had a higher prevalence of health ailments, but unsatisfactory health care seeking and health care utilization behaviour. These need further investigation and attention by the public health system in order to provide appropriate curative and preventive health care to the elderly. There is an urgent need to promote geriatric health services and make them available at the primary health care level, the first level of contact with a national health system.
发病率随年龄增长而增加，增加了健康问题的负担，从而给满足额外需求带来新的挑战。在老年人口中，应仔细评估健康问题和卫生保健利用情况，并予以解决。本研究旨在确定老年人的慢性多发病、健康问题、卫生保健寻求行为和卫生保健利用情况。
我们在桑萨里区的城市地区进行了一项基于社区的横断面研究，采用面对面访谈的方式。总共采访并通过简单比例随机抽样技术选择了 530 名老年参与者。
大约一半（48.3%）的老年人患有先前存在的慢性多发病，其中 30.9%患有单一疾病，17.4%患有多种疾病。本研究揭示了 50.0%以上的老年人患有循环系统、消化系统、眼科、肌肉骨骼和心理问题等健康疾病，分别占 68.7%、68.3%、66.2%、65.8%和 55.7%。我们的研究还发现，58.7%的人首选医院作为他们的第一联系机构。尽管有这样的偏好，但 46.0%的人报告说他们会去传统的治疗师那里治疗疾病。大约 68.1%的人报告说在寻求医疗保健方面有困难，51.1%的人报告说在过去 6 个月内去过医疗保健机构。有预先存在的疾病、医疗保险和高于贫困线的经济状况的参与者更有可能去医疗保健机构。
老年人的健康问题发病率较高，但寻求卫生保健和利用卫生保健的情况并不理想。这些需要公共卫生系统进一步调查和关注，以便为老年人提供适当的治疗和预防保健。迫切需要促进老年保健服务，并将其提供给初级卫生保健一级，即国家卫生系统的第一级接触点。
