Health needs assessment for elderly in primary health care in Zagreb

Abstract Background The purpose of any health system is to guarantee access to care for the entire population served. Zagreb population is 'very old', with 17.3% older than 65. The aim is to assess health care needs for elderly in primary health care (PHC). Methods Data on morbidity and visits are recorded in PHC facilities Variation in the mortality rate in 1971-2014 period is analyzing, using descriptive method. Results The highest index of PHC utilization (88.1%) is recorded for the +65 age, with 14.3 visits per capita (vs 7.7 for general population). Acute respiratory infections ranked first in all age groups; the rate per 100 was considerably lower in the ≥65 group than in the 0-19 group (27.82/100 vs 111.20/100). Hypertensive diseases ranked second most common (23.09 per 100) in the age group ≥65, followed by intervertebral disk diseases and other dorsopathies (15.10/100), and neuroses and affective disorders (6.63/100). The prevalence of hypertensive diseases and of intervertebral disk diseases and other dorsopathies was significantly higher in the ≥65 group (χ2=27.3 and χ2=13.43, respectively; p