Association Between Community Environment and Dependency Among the Elderly From a Service Provision Perspective
Abstract Background: The prevalence of dependency is high among the elderly worldwide and increases with increasing life expectancy. The objective of this study was to explore from the perspective of resource demand the association between community environmental resources and dependency among the elderly. Methods: The study was designed as a population-based cross-sectional study. A total of 950 participants aged ≥ 60 years from 22 locations in China were selected using a complex multistage sampling design. All data were collected using questionnaires and face-to-face interviews. The dependency was assessed using the Chinese version of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-II. The community environment was assessed using 43 items. Logistic regression analysis was used to evaluate the association between the community environment and dependency. Cluster analysis was used and demonstrated that dependency was mainly associated with community primary preventive care service resources. Results: In the analysis result, both age-specific and social support levels-stratified results showed that the dependency associated with community environmental resources differed among the elderly by age group and level of social support. Conclusions: The levels of dependency were significantly associated with community environment resources. Our results suggest that the dependent on local environment resources may consider as the resource needs among elderly.