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Morbidity profile and the standard of access to health services for elderly practitioners of physical activities

The morbidity profile and access to health services of 132 women and 33 men, with average age of 69.1±6 years all practitioners of physical activities was analyzed. A questionnaire for the socio-demographic profile, physical activity involved, self-referred morbidity and access to health services was applied. In the analysis, descriptive and inferencial statistics were used, with a significance level of 5%. Most of the sample was 60-69 years old (55.7%), practicing water aerobics (52.7%) and had high blood pressure (48.4%). The women aged 60 to 69 years (p <0.05) and 70 to 79 years (p <0.05) had at least one chronic disease. The indicators of access to health services were similar between genders (p> 0.05). The younger-aged men went more often to a doctor during the last year than the younger-aged women (p <0.05). In the other age brackets, feminine hegemony was maintained, with significant difference for 70 to 79 year-old females (p <0.05). Most of the elderly sought their private doctor (33.3%) or a health center (27.8 %). The main problems of the health services were medication (64.8%) and delays in scheduling consultations (48.4%). It was noted that the elderly are worried about preventive healthcare, which can be linked to the benefits of the practice of physical activity.

The Elderly; Physical activity; Access to health services


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