Social Support and Access to Health Care Among Older People in Japan: Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study (JAGES)

Abstract

We investigated cross-sectional associations between social support and access to health care among older Japanese people. From larger cohort datasets of community-dwelling people aged 65 years or older, 23 079 respondents were extracted. We summarized patterns of social support by gender and age group, then analyzed associations between social support and the experience of unmet health care needs, as a negative indicator of access. Adjusting for socioeconomic factors, multiple logistic regression identified that respondents who received instrumental support were less likely to experience unmet health care needs except males aged 65 to 69 years. The effect of receiving instrumental social support was larger than for household income and similar to anxiety about unexpected expenses. In the low-income group, these findings were highlighted among females aged 65 to 69 years and males aged 70 years and older. In addition to redistribution of financial resources, facilitating suitable social support may contribute to alleviating the access gap among older people.