Factors associated with use of community support services in an older Australian population.
OBJECTIVE
To assess prevalence and risk factors associated with use of community support services in a representative older Australian population.


METHODS
The Blue Mountains Eye Study surveyed 3,654 people aged > or = 49 years, 82.4% of eligible residents from an area west of Sydney during 1992-94. Questions about use of community support services were asked during face-to-face interview. Information on marital and living status, socio-economic status measures, past medical history and self-ranked health status were also collected.


RESULTS
186 (5.4%) persons including 124 women (6.3%) and 62 men (4.2%) reported regular use of community support services, including Meals-on-Wheels (n = 52), Home Care (n = 147) or visits from a community nurse (n = 63). All three services were used by 17 persons and two services by 42 persons. There was a marked age-related increase in use of services from 1.8% in persons aged < 60 years to 25.3% in persons aged 80+ years. Factors significantly associated with use of community services in a multivariate model were: age (OR 1.7 per age decade), living alone (OR 2.5), walking disability (OR 4.1), visual impairment (OR 3.0), stroke history (OR 2.2), arthritis history (OR 1.8), low perceived health status (OR 1.7), cancer history (OR 1.7) and a history of any falls in the past 12 months (OR 1.6).


CONCLUSIONS
Our study has found a wide range of health-related factors that impact on the use of community support services, particularly conditions causing difficulty in walking.


CONCLUSIONS
These data may assist health planners in identifying target populations for the provision of community support services.
D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D003153:Community Health Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003625:Data Collection; D005260:Female; D006299:Health Services for the Aged / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009517:New South Wales; D016017:Odds Ratio; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D017678:Sex Distribution; D012944:Social Support; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors