Health inequity: The position of older men living alone

Background: Being male, living alone and being of low socioeconomic status (SES) are all risk factors for health inequities, including a shorter lifespan. Not much is known, however, about older low-SES men living alone. This study maps their health.
Methods: Three studies were conducted. First, an electronic survey with municipal preventive home visitors nationwide inquiring into their perception of the health and needs of old men living alone. The second study compared older men's self-rated health according to their living arrangements and educational level using data from 29.791 older men from the Danish National Health Profile. Finally, actual use of health care services was compared using data from Denmark's Statistics on 57.966 older men.
Results: The first study showed older men living alone to be a significantly more difficult group to handle compared to cohabiting older men and older women living alone. Social and psychological needs were of primary concern whereas practical needs were of lesser concern. The second study showed older men living alone with no/short education to rate their health significantly worse on almost all items compared to men of higher education. The third study showed older men living alone to use general practitioner and preventive home visits significantly more but a range of other services such as dentist significantly less. Differences between subgroups of men living alone were found as well.
Conclusions: Old men living alone are at risk of poor health and present difficulties for health care workers but make use of primary health care.