Abstract

CHAVARRIAGA-RIOS, Marcia C  and  CARDONA-ARANGO, Doris. Measurement of health inequality in eldery people in Medellín during 2009. Rev. Fac. Nac. Salud Pública [online]. 2014, vol.32, n.3, pp.209-304. ISSN 0120-386X.

OBJECTIVE:to measure health inequality by examining unfair differences found in a group of elderly people according to the commune in which they live within the city of Medellin in 2009. METHODOLOGY: a descriptive ecological study using 11948 citizens of Medellín aged 60 and older as a source of information. Data was extracted from the survey of quality of life in 2009 for the municipality. Health status as a variable of interest was analyzed with respect to conditions such as schooling level, number of annual visits to the health services, employment and income from employment. These variables were used to measure inequity, using the (IHI) as a useful indicator to measure health inequalities. RESULTS :41.6% of the participants were men. The average age was 69.7 years (sd 8.03 years). 93.7% of the elderly participants can read and write more than one paragraph. One third of the sample perceived their state of health as bad or moderate. 15.3% of them work and, within this group of workers, 32.8% earn some money for the tasks performed. Similarly, out of this total, 50% earn a monthly salary up to $500,000 or less, while the other 50% earn from $501,000 to 15,000,000. Six of the sixteen communes showed the worst conditions regarding the health of the elderly. CONCLUSIONS:this study identified that 93.7% (15/16) of the communes, and 80% (4/5) of the townships in Medellín have health inequities when analyzed in terms of health status, schooling level, employment, number of annual visits to the health services and income from employment.

Keywords : Inequity in health; older adult; health status; health indicators; seniors health.

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