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E. Utilisation of health services and intake of medication
Older people should have regular medical check-ups to get advice and treatment before disease takes
hold. As the HealthQuest report (see Box 21) states: “A point that cannot be emphasized enough is the
need to increase the versatility and timeliness of preventative and rehabilitative activities in order to improve
the functional capacity of older people and postpone the onset of dependency.” Most preventative health
care and early disease screening are undertaken by general practitioners or in Primary Health Care (PHC)
centres. In general, training for health professionals includes little if any instruction about care for older
people, despite the fact that they will increasingly spend time caring for this section of the population. A
recent survey by the British Heart Foundation of more than 4,000 women in the UK aged 50 or older for
example found that only 10% had had a conversation about risk factors for heart disease with their general
practitioner and that many were unaware of the symptoms of a heart attack. 42
The WHO stresses that all health providers should be trained on ageing issues, regardless of their
specialisation. An additional problem facing society relating to health services is a trend towards labour
shortages amongst health professionals in this sector, despite the growing demand for health care. 43
Box 20
Key resource
Quality care for quality ageing
Co-funded by DG Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion under the Progress Programme, this project
focuses on home healthcare and social care services and interventions in the context of the long term
care needs of older people. It starts from the assumption that local and regional social services will be
the main tool for meeting the care needs of older people and that current welfare reform is not addressing
quickly enough the potential growth in demand for long-term care. Partners from seven partner countries
are analysing trends in health conditions and current legislation. They are exchanging good practices in
monitoring and assessing home healthcare services with the aim of fostering more effective home healthcare
interventions in the future.
More information is available at:
www.cdiecoop.it/QualityCare
The report: “Taking Action: improving the health and wellbeing of people in mid-life and beyond” publish by
the Health Development Agency in the UK offers practical suggestions for uptake of health services by the
55-60+ age group. The findings are based on qualitative research from eight studies in the UK. Amongst
the motivators of this age group were:
• A welcoming atmosphere created by staff, as well as a staff with good
interpersonal and communication skills such as active listening;
• A free health check;
• Opportunities for independent and appropriate financial information
and advice, including pensions, employment and benefits;
• Location and timing of services that suit the characteristics and diversity of
the age group, e.g. activity centres and football supporters’ clubs;
• Information provided from a range of known and valued sources,
e.g. National Farmers’ Union in East Devon.
An individual’s mental well-being, their resilience and ability to seek help and the response of the health
services are crucial to uptake of healthcare services. Cost of healthcare services and issues relating to
42 British Women’s Heart and Health Study: http://www.lshtm.ac.uk/eph/ncde/research/bwhhs/
43 European Foresight Monitoring Network Special issue on healthcare. Healthy Ageing and the future of public health care systems.
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