Purpose: Older adults generally have an increased need for health care information. Whereas some use the Internet to look for this information, others use more traditional sources. This study gathered data from older adults to determine their health information needs, the perceived usefulness of sources of health information, and if there are…

Purpose: The Veterans Affairs or VA health care system is in the process of significantly expanding home health care (HOC) nationwide. We describe VA HHC use in 2003 for all VA HHC users from 2002; we examine whether VA utilization across a broad spectrum of services differed for a sample of VA HHC users and their propensity-score-matched…

Purpose: This study explored similarities and differences in social support, home health service utilization, and health outcomes across four racial-ethnic groups of elders. Design and Methods: 1999 Outcomes Assessment Information Set records for 7,374 home care recipients who were 75 years of age or older and who were discharged to self-care were…

Examines effects on health status and health services utilization of simultaneous participation by elderly persons (N=401) in family and neighbor network systems. Results showed the greatest health needs and highest rates of use of formal health services to be among the noncompensated relationships. (JAC)

Analyzed health care use in four years prior to death for 4,256 elderly decedents. Found hospital bed use by nursing home residents declined with age and was much lower than for decedents in community. Institutionalized elders were much less likely to die in hospitals than were community elders, particularly very old and longer-term patients.…

Examined health service utilization by 4,800 Canadian elderly. Findings suggested that most elderly are healthy and are infrequent users of services. Identifies a minority of very high users of health care and discusses the potential influence of physicians on health care use by the elderly. (JAC)

Used secondary data sources to examine relative importance of geographic mobility as factor affecting use of Veterans Administration (VA) health services by older veterans. Found that variation in state VA health service admission rates was better explained primarily by characteristics of resident nonmobile veteran population and characteristics…

Many studies examining health service utilization by older adults involve secondary analyses of existing data sources and rely on behavioral model of health services utilization. Suggests that severe shortcomings in breadth and depth of available data, and numbers of intervals at which data have been recorded, limit understanding of health…

Found that older adults enrolled in Health Maintenance Organization who were higher users of health care services were willing to participate in health promotion programs. People aged 85+ and those with chronic diseases were slightly more reluctant to participate. Close proximity to clinic and family physician support were important correlates of…

Notes that health maintenance organizations (HMOs) provide large volume of health care services to older Americans. Contends that HMOs must reexamine general practice of equating utilization of services with health care need and collect better population-based information, including measures of health status. Discusses data elements widely…

Reviews four recent studies which found that general knowledge and acceptance of the formal service system were better predictors of service use by community-based elderly than were demographic and functional capacity variables usually studied. Suggests new research approaches to understanding why many older persons are reluctant to use existing…

Describes the Massachusetts Home Care Corporation network, which provides alternatives to institutional long-term care. This investigation confirms that home-based support service can be targeted to selected subgroups, that targeting can be maintained, and that the recipients of these services are indeed the individuals who risk…

Describes the intervention approaches, clients groups, and impacts on use of Medicaid and Medicare reimbursed services for five demonstrations included in the national evaluation of community-based long-term care. Only one project produced significant reductions in nursing home use. Unlike other projects, it identified potential clients through…

Interviewed 136 female heads of households in rural Sri Lanka. Found that marital status figured more importantly than age in use of health services. Concludes that, as unmarried heads of households increase in less developed places, their demands for health care at the village level likely will escalate. (Author/NB)

Compared the health care used by employed and retired elderly persons in Canada. Findings indicated that ambulatory physician visitation of both groups is similar, and the greater prevalence of serious conditions among the retired is associated with their higher hospitalization rates rather than with their retirement status. (Author)