Association between community environment and dependency among the elderly people from a service provision perspective

Abstract Background The incidence of dependency is high among the elderly people worldwide and increases with increasing life expectancy. The purpose of this study was to establish from the perspective of resource demand the association between community environmental resources and dependency among the elderly people. Methods This study is a cross-sectional design based on community from 22 locations in China. A multistage sampling method was used to select the study objects. The questionnaires were used to collect the survey data by face-to-face interviews. A total of 950 individuals completed the survey, and 913 individuals were available for this analysis. Dependency and community environment were measured using the standard instruments. Logistic regression analysis was performed to identify the community environment factors associated with dependency. Cluster analysis was used and demonstrated that dependency was mainly associated with community primary preventive care service resources. Results In the group aged under 70 years, the utilization of electronic health records and the need for health assessments, and rehabilitation equipment rentals were significantly associated with the levels of dependency scores: the OR was 2.81, 2.25 and 2.13 (P