Differential Use of Health Services among Disabled Elderly

Abstract

In order to facilitate program planning for the chronically ill, it is essential to understand their propensity to use health and social services. This study has systematically examined the use of ambulatory services among the noninstitutionalized elderly (N = 772) who reported with one or more activity-limiting chronic conditions in a statewide survey of older Virginians in 1979. The determinants of differential use of physician services are investigated. The independent variables included in the analysis are: (1) personal attributes that may predispose individuals to seek care; (2) need for care factors as evidenced by the number of health disorders, physical functioning limitations, and perceived health; and (3) enabling factors such as income, insurance status, regular source of care, perceived service needs, and transportation barriers. Findings show that a significantly large number of physician visits may be generated in response to the psychological needs of disabled elderly. The eighteen predictors accounted for a relatively larger amount of variance (39%o) in use of social services than in physican visits (14%o). Furthermore, there is a strong complementary relationship between physician visits and use of social services.

A New Typology of Home-Care Helpers

“…We based inclusion criteria on factors associated with home-care use (Branch et al, 1988;Choi, 1994;Soldo, 1985;Wan & Arling, 1983;Wolinsky & Johnson, 1992). The inclusion criteria were as follows: (a) being 80 years of age or older, (b) living alone at home, (c) having been widowed for at least 1 year, (d) having children, and (e) living in the town where one had lived when married.…”

Comparison of Healthcare Experiences in Autistic and Non-Autistic Adults: A Cross-Sectional Online Survey Facilitated by an Academic-Community Partnership

“…3 Prior studies have documented that people with disabilities face disparities in health and healthcare as compared to people without disabilities. [4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20] Though some studies assessing healthcare disparities for adults with developmental disabilities have included participants on the autism spectrum, with the exception of one small study using administrative data, 21 they do not report results separately for autistic participants. Most studies also primarily include participants with intellectual disabilities, and may not be generalizable to the full range of individuals now recognized as on the autism spectrum, a majority of whom do not have an intellectual disability.…”

The Use of Injections for Treating Childhood Diseases: Determinants and Consequences for Preventive Health Care in Developing Countries

“…This, according to Aday and associates (1980), is to be ex pected. However, some researchers have expressed concern about the inability of the model to explain a large variance in service use (Wan and Arling 1983;Wolinsky 1978;Mechanic 1979). The test of this component by Fosu (1989) along the lines being pro posed in this study showed that, by examining the use of health services by children and mothers separately, the variance explained by the model improved considerably.…”