The Utilisation of Outpatient Services by Hypertensive Elderly Individuals in Indonesia

Abstract

Demographic transition presents a significant challenge to the world. People experience longer life because the aging population is increasing rapidly. Organizations of integrated care for older people confirmed that the elderly were more prone to being victims of chronic diseases and serious issues. Factors related to the utilization of outpatient services generally have been explored, but there are limited studies on the elderly with hypertension. This study aims to analyze the elderly population using outpatient services for hypertension, in Indonesia. The cross-sectional study is used as the study. We obtained data from the Indonesian Family Life Survey (IFLS) in 2014. There were 2,308 elderly. Bivariate analysis was using chi-square, and multivariate analysis using multiple logistic regression. It was found that 24.1% of the elderly with hypertension used outpatient services. Variables significantly associated with the utilization of outpatient services were gender, insurance status, health status, economic status, the number of chronic diseases, marital status, self-limited activity, and region. The main predictor of the utilization of outpatient services is the number of chronic diseases. In conclusion, the number of chronic diseases was significantly influenced among the elderly with hypertension by using outpatient services. More effort by the government is needed to expand the policy of promotion and prevention in chronic diseases.