Health Needs of Older Adults in South-South Nigeria: Morbidity, Hospital Admission, and Health-Seeking Behavior—a Community-Based Cross-Sectional Study

Background: Older adults experience increasing health needs because of the growing burden of communicable and non-communicable diseases. However, community-based evidence on morbidity, hospital admission, and health-seeking behavior among older persons in South-South Nigeria remains limited. Objective: This study aimed to assess the health needs of older adults in South-South Nigeria, with an emphasis on morbidity, hospital admission, health-seeking behavior, and associated factors. Methods: A community-based cross-sectional analytical study was conducted using a multistage sampling technique among 642 adults aged 60 years in Benin City, Edo State, Nigeria. Data were collected using an interviewer-administered questionnaire adapted from validated instruments. Information on morbidity, hospital admission, health care utilization, and health-seeking behavior was obtained. The composite health-needs scores were categorized as met or unmet. Data were analyzed using IBM SPSS version 27. Associations were assessed using chi-square and Fisher’s exact tests, whereas independent predictors were identified using binary logistic regression. Statistical significance was set at p < 0.05. Results: The mean age of the respondents was 70.4 ± 9.8 years, and 326 (50.8%) were male. The most frequently reported health problems were malaria (427, 66.5%), hypertension (361, 56.2%), and waist or joint pain (340, 53.0%). Ninety-one (14.2%) respondents had been hospitalized during the preceding year, mainly because of malaria (39.5%), hypertension (23.1%), and diabetes mellitus (13.2%). Hospitals were the most common place of treatment among respondents with chronic illnesses (214, 53.1%). Overall, 594 (92.5%) respondents had met health needs