The need of the elderly for nursing and social services in the community of Kaunas district

The aim of this study was to evaluate the need of the elderly for outpatient nursing and social services in Kaunas district.
Material and methods. The object of the study was elderly people (aged 65 years and more) living in Kaunas district. A questionnaire was used for interviewing. The sample was randomly selected from the lists of people registered at the primary health care centers (including outpatient departments and medical aid centers). A total of 390 inhabitants were investigated who represent all the elderly of Kaunas district. The independence of the respondents was evaluated by the standard tests (the Barthel Index and Mini-Mental State Examination).
Results. The respondents reported that 71.3% of them needed nursing and 58.2% social services. The need for the services was higher in older age group. The rural elderly reported higher need for social services (64.3%) than the urban elderly (49.6%). Less than half (45.9%) of respondents referred having problems visiting the general practitioner. Majority of the respondents (86.4%) pointed out that those who took care of them had no special medical training. Totally or almost totally dependent respondents (groups by Barthel Index) needed social (88.0%) and nursing (96.0%) services. Majority of respondents (79.2%) preferred to be cared at home.
Conclusions. More than half of the elderly needed both nursing and social services. The need for social services differently from nursing services was influenced by the living place of the respondents; the rural elderly needed services more than the urban elderly.