title: Unmet health care needs in the aged in two rural South African communities.
abstract: An evaluation of the unmet health care needs of all the aged people in two rural villages in the northern Transvaal was undertaken by assessing 7 indicators of health status to determine the prevalence of significant health problems and of receipt of health care for such problems. Oral health problems were found in 81% of the sample, visual problems in 62%, low peak expiratory flow in 48%, significant gastrointestinal symptoms in 38%, significant urinary symptoms in 32%, anaemia in 23%, and a lack of independence in 14%. There were 283 problems needing care, for which treatment had been received in the last year in only 30 instances (11%). The lack of care is attributed mainly to the inaccessibility of health services and the lack of health care resources in 'homeland' areas.
authors.affiliation: Department of Community Health, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Soderlund
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Buch
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Karas
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Beadle
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Viljoen
mesh_terms: D001741:Black or African American; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D044383:Black People; D005260:Female; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand; D006302:Health Services Research; D006299:Health Services for the Aged / Q000592:standards*; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012424:Rural Population; D013019:South Africa