GP attendance by elderly Australians: evidence for unmet need in elderly men.
OBJECTIVE
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.


METHODS
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.


METHODS
Canberra and Queanbeyan in the Australian Capital Territory.


METHODS
People aged 70 years and over, living in the community.


METHODS
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).


CONCLUSIONS
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.
Jacomb
P A
PA
NHMRC Psychiatric Epidemiology Research Centre, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT. Patricia.Jacomb@anu.edu.au
Jorm
A F
AF
Korten
A E
AE
Rodgers
B
B
Henderson
S
S
Christensen
H
H
D000368:Aged; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001315:Australia / Q000453:epidemiology; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D005260:Female; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006299:Health Services for the Aged / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008511:Medicine / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D009017:Morbidity; D009313:National Health Programs / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011159:Population Surveillance; D011320:Primary Health Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D017678:Sex Distribution; D012944:Social Support; D013038:Specialization; D016019:Survival Analysis