title: [The effect of age, gender and socioeconomic status on the use of services for psychological distress symptoms in the general medical sector: Results from the ESA research program on mental health and aging].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The objective of this study was, first, to document the psychometric characteristics of a measure of the older adults' socioeconomic status and, secondly, to test the effect of the socioeconomic status on the association between the older adults perceived need to improve their mental health and their use of services in the general medical sector for psychological distress symptoms taking into account the effect of age and gender.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data used in this study come from the ESA study (Enquête sur la santé des ainés) on mental health and aging, conducted in 2005-2008 using a probabilistic sample (n=2811) of the older adult population aged 65 years and over living at home in Quebec.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Our results showed that a measurement model of the older adults' socioeconomic status including an individual-level (SES_I) and an area/contextual-level dimension of socioeconomic deprivation (SES_C) was plausible. The reliability of the SES index used in the ESA research program was .92. Our results showed that women (b=-.43) and older people (b=-.16) were more at risk to have a disadvantaged socioeconomic status. However, our results did not show evidence of a significant association between the older adults' socioeconomic status, their perception of a need to improve their mental health and the use of medical services for psychological distress symptoms in the general medical sector in the older adult population in Quebec.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results do not support the idea suggested in other studies that socioeconomic status has an effect on the older adults use of services for psychological distress symptoms in the general medical sector and suggest that in a context where medical health services are provided under a public insurance programme context, the socioeconomic status does not influence access to services in the general medical sector in the older adult population.
authors.affiliation: Faculté de médecine et des sciences de la santé, Université de Sherbrooke; Centre de recherche - Hôpital Charles‑LeMoyne.
authors.forename: Michel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Préville
authors.affiliation: Faculté de médecine et des sciences de la santé, Université de Sherbrooke.
authors.forename: Samantha
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gontijo-Guerra
authors.affiliation: Hôpital Charles‑LeMoyne, Canada.
authors.forename: Samia-Djemaâ
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Mechakra-Tahiri
authors.affiliation: Faculté de médecine et des sciences de la santé, Université de Sherbrooke; Centre de recherche - Hôpital Charles‑LeMoyn.
authors.forename: Helen-Maria
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Vasiliadis
authors.affiliation: Faculté de médecine et des sciences de la santé, Université de Sherbrooke.
authors.forename: Catherine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lamoureux-Lamarche
authors.affiliation: Centre de recherche - Hôpital Charles‑LeMoyne, Canada.
authors.forename: Djamal
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Berbiche
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008605:Mental Health Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D015233:Models, Statistical; D011792:Quebec / Q000453:epidemiology; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012737:Sex Factors; D012923:Social Class; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000628:therapy*