Use of Health Services in Later Life: The Influence of Health Beliefs

This study examined the influence of health beliefs on the use of various health services by elderly individuals, employing Andersen-Newman's framework of predisposing, enabling, and need factors. Data are from a random sample of 743 individuals aged 60 and over living in Winnipeg, Canada. Need factors emerge as the strongest correlates of physician visits, hospitalization, and overall service use. The degree of medical skepticism appears to exert some influence on utilization, particularly in regard to physician visits. A stronger belief in the value of health maintenance activities is associated with the use of a greater number of services overall, suggesting that preventive health beliefs may promote use of the health care system. Generally health locus of control appears to be unrelated to health service utilization. Implications for further research are discussed.