Regular Source of Care for the Elderly: A Cross-National Comparative Study of Hong Kong With 11 Developed Countries

Objective: This study aimed to give an international perspective of health service gaps for caring for elderly individuals and explore the role of primary care for caring for elderly individuals with chronic conditions in Hong Kong.

Design: Cross-sectional, telephone survey.

Setting: Hong Kong.

Participant: A sample of 1000 Chinese participants in Hong Kong aged 60 or older.

Measurements: Questionnaire extracted from the Commonwealth Fund 2014 International Health Policy Survey of Older Adults.

Results: Similar to the 11 countries, more than half (about 65%) of Hong Kong respondents suffered from chronic conditions, whereas approximately one-third of them had at least 2 chronic conditions. US respondents had highest rate of having chronic conditions. Only 65% of Hong Kong respondents reported having a regular source of care and a higher proportion of elderly reported having poor self-rated health when compared with overseas counterparts. However, the proportion of elderly individuals who could access same-day or next-day medical care was higher compared with findings of other countries. Both Hong Kong and US respondents were more likely to report cost-related problems when accessing care. Waiting time for specialists in Hong Kong was much longer and coordination between regular doctors was poorer than in all other countries. Although half of Hong Kong respondents had a management plan for chronic conditions, a smaller proportion of them considered it helpful.

Conclusions: Hong Kong has the lowest rate of regular source of care when compared with 11 developed countries, although people in Hong Kong were more likely to be able to access same-day or next-day medical care. To cope with increasing needs of chronic disease care, there may be a need to further develop the provision of regular source of care for elderly individuals, including the development of quality primary care in Hong Kong.