Elderly Persons Living With A Spouse Report Better Preventive Care Use Than Those Living Alone Or With Children

25 may 2009--Elderly persons living with a spouse have more timely preventive service use than those living alone or with offspring. The sole exception is in the case of hypertension screening.

Data were taken from 13,038 community-dwelling elderly persons who participated in the 2002 to 2005 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey.

The study's authors estimated the likelihood of preventive care use among elderly persons in four living arrangements: living with one's spouse only (52 percent), living alone (38 percent), living with one's spouse and with one's adult offspring (5 percent), and living with one's adult offspring (5 percent).

Preventive services included influenza vaccination; physical and dental checkups; and screenings for hypertension, cholesterol and colorectal cancer.

"Educational Outreach interventions should target not only those elderly adults who live alone but also those living with adult offspring" the authors said.

"The Relationship Between Living Arrangement and Preventive Care Use Among Community-Dwelling Elderly Persons."

Source
American Journal of Public Health