Access to Health Care Services of the Elderly, Thawiwatthana District, Bangkok*

Abstract

Abstract
The results of the National Elderly Plan No. 2 in 2015 indicated that the provision of services for aging population in Bangkok was not yet covered and remains a challenge. This cross-sectional research aimed to assess the access to health care services of the elderly in Thaweewattana District, Bangkok; and to find out the relationship of personal characteristics, social support, health care service provision, and service quality to the elderly. The sample consisted of 60 elderly living in the 16 communities of Thawiwatthana District. 360 people were randomly sampled using probability. The tool used was structured interviews. The interview content validity and accuracy were verified by 3 experts. Cronbach’s alpha coefficients of accessibility, social support, health service, and service
quality were 0.738, 0.846, 0.813, and 0.861 respectively. Data were analyzed by descriptive and binary logistic regression analysis with the significance at p<0.05.
The result showed that the elderly in Thawiwatthana District had an access to health care services at a high level of 63%. The factors related to an access to
health care services consisted of service quality regarding the confidence in service providers, health service system management, and the sympathy to clients. The factors also included the elderly having their spouse or children to take care of their sicknesses. Therefore, if we need the elderly to access more health services,the administrative committee of health facilities should improve the service quality to raise the confidence level of clients. This may be done by providing an appropriate environment of the facilities, developing the personnel’s knowledge, personalities and attitudes toward the services, and managing the service system such that it focuses on the elderly and their families as a center.