Assessment of unmet health problems and consultation causes of individuals aged 65 and over

The aim of this study is to make comprehensive assessment of elderly individuals who have an important place in primary health care; to evaluate the existing health problems and unmet health needs of these individuals and to determinate the frequency of consultations which will be required in this context. The study involved 380 volunteers aged sixty-five or older. Within the study, participants were underwent 10-Minute Comprehensive Screening Test which is a part of WHO's Age-friendly Primary Health Care Centers Toolkit, The 12-Item Short Form of Health Survey (SF-12), Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA) Scale, Oral and Dental Health Scale (DENTAL), Clock Drawing Test and Lubben Social Network Scale. In addition, a socio-demographic and medical history questionnaire was applied which determines the socio-demographic characteristics, health status and health needs of the participants. Polls and scales are filled with face to face interview technique. SPSS 22.0 was used for evaluation of the data and significance level was adopted as p <0.05. 179 of the participants (47%) were female and 201 (53%) were male. The mean age was found as 71.6 (SD:5,25; min:65; max:91). 270 participants (71.05%) belonged to the overweight or obese group. Participants have received 37.9 points (SD:11,7; min:0; max:60) at Social Network Scale. There was an average of 3.6 diseases in the medical history of every older individuals; and the most common disease was arterial hypertension. The multimorbidity status, the excess of BMI, urinary incontinence, depression, falls and lack of physical function has been shown to be more frequent among women (p <0,05). In general; it has been shown that unmet health problems were high and need further evaluation for cognitive / memory status, motor functions, hearing and vision problems, oral-dental health problems and polypharmacy. It has been understood that the 10 Minute Comprehensive Screenig Test which is enriched with additional tests might reveal common unmet health problems at older individuals. It was formed the conclusion that this test, which is fast and easy to use, can significantly support the elderly monitoring programs that would be applied in family health centers.