Unmet health and social care needs and associated factors among older people aged ≥ 80 years in Izmir, Turkey.

BACKGROUND: The health and social care needs of people aged ≥ 80 years are a neglected topic. AIMS: To determine the prevalence of unmet health and social care needs and associated factors in community-dwelling individuals aged ≥ 80 years in Izmir District of Balçova, Turkey. METHODS: There were 1075 participants aged ≥ 80 years. The dependent variables were unmet health and social care needs. Independent variables were sociodemographic, socioeconomic and lifestyle characteristics. The data were collected in face-to-face interviews conducted at the homes and analysed by multiple logistic regression model. Ethical approval was obtained from the Non-Invasive Research Ethics Board of Dokuz Eylul University Medical Faculty (2017/26-24). RESULTS: The mean age was 84.1 (3.7) years and 61.0% were female. Healthcare needs were expressed by 88.2% of the participants and 78.9% claimed that they had social care needs. Prevalence of unmet health and social care needs was 32.5% and 46.6%, respectively. Approximately 90.0% of their needs were covered by families. Perceived low-income status was a risk factor for unmet healthcare needs, and lack of social support was a risk factor for unmet social care needs. Additionally, not receiving formal education was a protective factor in unmet social care needs. CONCLUSION: Public health policy should be developed to enable better access to care, especially for the oldest people, considering that nearly one third of the participants in this study had unmet healthcare needs and almost half had unmet social care needs.

Falls, fear of falling and related factors in community-dwelling individuals aged 80 and over in Turkey.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to determine the prevalence of falls, fear of falling (FOF) and related factors in individuals aged 80 and over living in the Balçova district of Izmir. METHODS: One thousand and seventy-five individuals aged 80 years or older participated. The dependent variables were falls and fear of falling. The independent variables were socio-demographic and socio-economic characteristics, health-related characteristics and 'safety status of home' features. RESULTS: The participants' mean age was 84.1 ± 3.7 (range, 80-101) years, and 60.8% were female (n = 582). The prevalence of falls was 35.4% in the last year, and fear of falling was 86.6%. The risk factors for falls were number of chronic diseases, moderate and high fall risk, sleep disturbance and slippery bathroom floors, whilst for fear of falling they were number of chronic diseases, female gender, living alone and moderate or high fall risk. CONCLUSION: A monitoring program is indicated to address high fall and fear of falling prevalence among people aged 80 and over.