Health-Related Needs of Older Adults in Rafsanjan County, Kerman, Iran

Objectives:

 The need for meeting the needs of the elderly to promote active aging among them is becoming more important. For appropriate planning in this field, accurate needs assessment is necessary. In this regard, this study aims to investigate the health-related needs of the elderly in Rafsanjan county, Kerman, Iran.

Methods & Materials:

 This cross-sectional study was conducted on 267 older people in Rafsanjan county in 2020 who were randomly selected from among six comprehensive health centers. A demographic form and the Camberwell Assessment of Need for the Elderly questionnaire were completed and data were analyzed in SPSS v. 26 software.

Results:

 The highest frequency of unmet needs in terms of psychological needs was psychological distress (12.3 %); in terms of physical needs, it was memory (9.3 %); and in terms of environmental needs, it was accommodation (5.2%). The highest frequency of met needs was related to physical needs in terms of medication (67.5%) and physical health (64%). The most unnecessary needs were related to psychological needs in terms of receiving benefits, drinking alcohol, deliberate self-harm and accidental self-harm. The highest rate of received help from unofficial sources was in the field of psychological distress (0.4%), and highest rate of received help from official sources were the fields of accommodation and physical health  (0.4%).

Conclusion:

 The elderly in Rafsanjan county need more help in the field of psychological and physical needs. Therefore, attention should be paid to these needs in policy-making and executing programs in the field of elderly care.