Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2025 May 15;25(1):1798.
doi: 10.1186/s12889-025-22982-z.

Socioeconomic inequalities in meeting the needs of the elderly in western Iran

Sediqheh Mafakheri  1 , Fatemeh Mansouri-Shad  1 , Parvin Cheraghi  2   3 , Qhadir Nouri  4 , Zahra Cheraghi  5   6
Affiliations

Socioeconomic inequalities in meeting the needs of the elderly in western Iran

Sediqheh Mafakheri et al. BMC Public Health. .

Abstract

Objective: The increasing demographic shift toward an aging population in Iran highlights the urgent need to understand how socioeconomic inequalities affect the ability of older individuals to access essential resources and services. This study examined socioeconomic inequalities in meeting the needs of older people in Hamadan, Iran.

Method: This cross-sectional study was conducted on the 501 elderly people living in western Iran. Data collection was carried out from December 1, 2022 to March 31, 2023, among elderly individuals who were registered in the SIB (Unified Health System). system. Elderly were selected by stratified random sampling among 17 comprehensive urban health centers (CURHCs) in Hamadan province. The data collection process consisted of four sections, including: A demographic information questionnaire, the Abbreviated Mental Test (AMT) questionnaire to determine the absence of dementia, cognitive impairment and the Barthel Index questionnaire to measure functional independence status and 4) Camberwell Assessment of Need for the Elderly. Socio-economic inequalities were assessed using the concentration index and a decomposition approach, determining the contribution of each factor to the socio-economic inequality at 95% CI.

Results: The concentration index for met needs was 0.15 (95% CI: 0.12, 0.19), indicating a concentration of met needs among the elderly with higher economic status. Subgroup analysis (with statistically significant results) revealed that the lowest levels of met needs were observed among illiterate people (53.09% vs. 92.11% (p < 0.001)) and those with dyslipidemia (55.86% vs. 65.98, p = 0.050). Education (60.38%) and economic status (25.32%) were the primary contributors to inequality in elderly individuals' met needs.

Conclusion: The findings reveal significant disparities in meeting the needs of the elderly, particularly among the wealthy, the illiterate, and those with dyslipidemia. To address these issues, public health initiatives should focus on expanding education and providing economic support to disadvantaged older adults. In addition, personalized health care for those with chronic conditions is essential. Proposed solutions include training health care workers in geriatric care, developing community-based programs with home care, and creating economic support packages for low-income seniors.

Keywords: Elderly; Inequalities; Iran; Met-needs.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Ethics approval and consent to participate: Informed consent was obtained in written form for literate elderly individuals and verbally for those who are illiterate. This Research performed in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki and must have been approved by the Institutional Review Board and the Ethics Committee of Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran, approved this study (IR.UMSHA.REC.1402.406, ID: 140206144766). Consent for publication: Not applicable. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Concentration curve of met needs among Iranian elderly
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
The factors that contribute to socioeconomic inequality in met needs among Iranian elderly people
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

References

    1. Naja S, Makhlouf M, Chehab MAH. An ageing world of the 21st century: a literature review. Int J Community Med Public Health. 2017;4(12):4363–9.
    1. Parsa P, Rezapur-Shahkolai F, Araghchian M, Afshari M, Moradi A. Medical procedure problems from the viewpoint of elderly referrals to healthcare centers of Hamadan: A qualitative study. Iran J Ageing. 2017;12(2):146–55. 10.21859/sija-1202146.
    1. Fang EF, Xie C, Schenkel JA, Wu C, Long Q, Cui H, et al. A research agenda for ageing in China in the 21st century: focusing on basic and translational research, long-term care, policy and social networks. Ageing Res Rev. 2020;64:101174. 10.1016/j.arr.2020.101174. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Hong L, editor. The influence of aging population on China’s economy in the information society. 2010 2nd IEEE International Conference on Information Management and Engineering; 2010: IEEE.
    1. Reynolds T, Thornicroft G, Abas M, Woods B, Hoe J, Leese M, et al. Camberwell assessment of need for the elderly (CANE): development, validity and reliability. Br J Psychiatry. 2000;176(5):444–52. 10.1017/9781911623373.012. - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources