Difficulties of access to health services among non-institutionalized older adults: prevalence and associated factors

Abstract Objective: To estimate the prevalence and factors associated with the difficulties of access to health services among non-institutionalized older adults in the town of Montes Claros, Minas Gerais, Brazil. Method: A cross-sectional study nested in a population-based cohort of community-dwelling older adults was carried out in Montes Claros, Minas Gerais, Brazil. Data collection was performed in the homes of the older adults between November 2016 and February 2017. Demographic, socioeconomic, and health-related variables and access to and use of health services were evaluated. Bivariate analyzes (Pearson’s chi-squared test) were conducted, adopting a level of significance lower than 0.20 for inclusion of the independent variables in the multiple model. The final model was generated by Poisson regression analysis, with robust variance, and the variables maintained were associated with difficulty in using the health services up to a level of significance of 0.05 (p