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GP attendance by elderly Australians: evidence for unmet need in elderly men
Author(s) -
Jacomb Patricia A,
Jorm Anthony F,
Korten Ailsa E,
Rodgers Bryan,
Henderson Scott,
Christensen Helen
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
medical journal of australia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.904
H-Index - 131
eISSN - 1326-5377
pISSN - 0025-729X
DOI - 10.5694/j.1326-5377.1997.tb140040.x
Subject(s) - medicine , attendance , gerontology , family medicine , demography , economics , economic growth , sociology
Objectives: To examine GP service use by elderly people and, in particular, to compare those who had not consulted a GP in one year with those who were low attenders and those who were high attenders. Design: Medicare data on GP service use were matched to data collected by interview in 1990–1991 and reinterview in 1994 as part of a community study on health and well‐being. Setting: Canberra and Queanbeyan in the Australian Capital Territory. Participants: People aged 70 years and over, living in the community. Main outcome measures: The number of visits made to a GP in 12 months. Results: Medicare data were available for 624 of the 897 participants interviewed (70%). While the women non‐attenders reported similar levels of physical illness and symptoms to the low attenders, men non‐attenders reported significantly higher levels of illness ( P <0.01) than the low‐attender group. The health of men who were non‐attenders was very similar to men who were high attenders of GP services. Men who had not seen a GP in one year reported significantly more pain ( P =0.002) and less social support than both low attenders and high attenders ( P =0.012 and P = 0.049, respectively). Conclusion: We identified a group of men who had not attended a GP in one year, despite significant levels of morbidity. Such a group may benefit from consultation with a GP and could be targeted in any attempt to improve elderly men's health.