The professional role of nurses working in public health in Latin America is not well defined because of the health-care system infrastructure and the lack of a clear public health nurse job description. Further research is needed to better understand the role of public health nurses and strengthen their training, particularly in relation to nursing management encompassing abilities for decision-making processes and public health program planning and evaluation.

Predisposing, enabling and need factors are strong predictors of health services utilization among Mexican older persons. In addition, gender differences exist among this population in relation to health status, but not to health services demands.