Kalibatas Vytenis, Kaseliene Snieguole, Kalediene Ramune, Mesceriakova Olga, Sauliune Skirmante
Department of Health Management, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Kaunas, Lithuania.
Front Public Health. 2025 Mar 4;13:1504049. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1504049. eCollection 2025.
This study investigates the perceived accessibility of healthcare services among older adults in Lithuania during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study is significant as it sheds light on geographical, organizational, and financial healthcare access issues encountered by the older population.
Conducted in January 2024, the study involved an anonymous questionnaire survey of 1,503 Lithuanian residents aged 65 and older.
The most frequently utilized healthcare services were consultations with a general practitioner (75.4%) 22.0% of respondents reported not receiving any healthcare services. 53.5% respondents were satisfied with travel time to specialists. Common challenges included difficulties in getting appointments with specialists (53.9%) and dentists (36.2%). Financial barriers led to unmet healthcare needs: 12.6% of the respondents did not receive needed services, 12.8% did not undergo recommended tests, and 14.2% did not purchase prescribed medications. Healthcare services were less accessible to elders with lower education, lower incomes, and those who self-rated health poorly ( < 0.05).
Most respondents received the healthcare they needed during the pandemic and rated geographical access positively. However, some problems in organizational and financial access were disclosed. The observed social gradient indicates that socioeconomic factors significantly influence healthcare access, potentially increasing vulnerability among certain groups.
本研究调查了立陶宛老年人在新冠疫情期间对医疗服务可及性的感知情况。该研究具有重要意义，因为它揭示了老年人群体在地理、组织和经济方面遇到的医疗服务获取问题。
该研究于2024年1月开展，对1503名65岁及以上的立陶宛居民进行了匿名问卷调查。
最常使用的医疗服务是与全科医生的咨询（75.4%）。22.0%的受访者表示未接受任何医疗服务。53.5%的受访者对前往专科医生处的出行时间感到满意。常见挑战包括难以预约专科医生（53.9%）和牙医（36.2%）。经济障碍导致医疗需求未得到满足：12.6%的受访者未获得所需服务，12.8%的受访者未接受推荐的检查，14.2%的受访者未购买处方药。受教育程度较低、收入较低以及自我健康评分较差的老年人获得医疗服务的难度更大（P<0.05）。
大多数受访者在疫情期间获得了所需的医疗服务，并对地理可及性给予了积极评价。然而，研究也揭示了在组织和经济可及性方面存在的一些问题。观察到的社会梯度表明，社会经济因素显著影响医疗服务的获取，可能会增加某些群体的脆弱性。
