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. 2004 Oct;94(10):1788-94.
doi: 10.2105/ajph.94.10.1788.

Barriers to health care access among the elderly and who perceives them

Annette L Fitzpatrick  1 , Neil R Powe, Lawton S Cooper, Diane G Ives, John A Robbins
Affiliations

Barriers to health care access among the elderly and who perceives them

Annette L Fitzpatrick et al. Am J Public Health. 2004 Oct.

Abstract

Objectives: We evaluated self-perceived access to health care in a cohort of Medicare beneficiaries.

Methods: We identified patterns of use and barriers to health care from self-administered questionnaires collected during the 1993-1994 annual examination of the Cardiovascular Health Study.

Results: The questionnaires were completed by 4889 (91.1%) participants, with a mean age of 76.0 years. The most common barriers to seeing a physician were the doctor's lack of responsiveness to patient concerns, medical bills, transportation, and street safety. Low income, no supplemental insurance, older age, and female gender were independently related to perceptions of barriers. Race was not significant after adjustment for other factors.

Conclusions: Psychological and physical barriers affect access to care among the elderly; these may be influenced by poverty more than by race.

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Figures

FIGURE 1—
FIGURE 1—
Distribution of self-reported responses to the question “How much did each of the following affect your ability to see a doctor in the past year?” from 592 participants in the Cardiovascular Health Study affected by at least 1 barrier.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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