Aging & Social Change: Thirteenth Interdisciplinary Conference

Abstract

Older-aged adults (65 and older) are more likely to suffer from chronic diseases (CDs). It leads to more frequent visits to general practitioners (GPs). Against all expectations, there is a group of older-aged adults with CDs and with lower use of primary healthcare (unmet needs). In this cross-sectional study, we use data from the 2017 Survey on Income and Living Conditions (SILC) in Serbia. The sample consists of 3,424 respondents older than 65 years. Most of the participants 2.903 (84.9%) visited the GP at least once a year and 518 (15.1%) didn’t have any visits. Age groups significantly differed in the frequency of participants reporting ‘’no visit to GP” (65-69y-16.4%; 70-74y-14.5%; 75-79y-11.6%; 80+-17.3%, p<0.001). There were 2,416 (70.6%) participants 65+ years old with CD and among them 248 (10.3%) reported “no visit”. With increased age, the number of participants with CDs increased (63.5% : 71.4% : 72,2% : 78%, p<0.001). There was a significant difference in the number of participants with CDs and the number of visits to the GP among the age groups. The highest number with “no visit” was in the 80+ age group (14.6%), 1- 2 visits among 65-69y (13.2%), 3-5 visits among 80+ (26.6%), 6-9 visits within 75-79 (17.4%), 10 and more visits among 70-74y (43.7%) (p<0.001). There is a high prevalence of CDs among older aged in Serbia but one in ten didn’t have any visits to a GP, especially among those in the oldest age group.