Objective: Establishing the factors associated with using healthcare services for the aged in Cartagena, Colombia.
Methods: This was a cross-sectional study. A 656 sample-size was estimated for a population of 66,795 senior citizens; stratified sampling was used. A questionnaire entitled "Using healthcare services" (Uso de los servicios de salud) was used; descriptive statistics and logistical regression were then used for modeling the probability of being a healthcare service user.
Results: 656 senior citizens participated in the study; average age was 67.9 years old. 407 of the participants had consulted for disease during the last month (62.0 %); 376 of them (92.4 %) had consulted once or twice. Living in socio-economic strata 4, 5 and/or 6 (Chi² 4.14; p=0.043), having a diagnosed disease (Chi² 3.82 p=0,051), suffering from a chronic disease (Chi² 7.0; p=0.008) or waiting for 30 minutes or less to be seen (Chi² 3.17; p=0.075) were factors associated with using primary healthcare services by senior citizens in Cartagena. Having a diagnosed disease (Chi² 3.59; p=0.0581) and waiting for 30 minutes or less to be seen (Chi² 3.02; p=0.0818) were the regression model variables explaining healthcare service use.
Conclusion: A senior citizen using primary healthcare services in Cartagena was influenced by variables such as residing in mid-level socio-economic strata, having a diagnosed disease, suffering from a chronic disease and waiting for 30 minutes or less to be seen.