The objective of the researchers was to determine whether social isolation was (or not) associated with increased use of primary health care services among European older adults. To do this, they analyzed both sociodemographic, health and social isolation measures. They also considered possible differences by “welfare regimes.”
The authors found that a considerable proportion of those over 50 in Europe suffer social isolation. Thus, for the group of countries analyzed, having no partner was significantly and positively correlated with the use of health services (β = 0.03), while the provision of help was significantly and negatively related to visits to the attending physician primary (β = −0.09). Differences in welfare regimes stand out in the study. Thus, Mediterranean countries (where Spain is included) would consume more health services than other Europeans.
Thus, from the conclusions of the study it follows that interventions aimed at the elderly who suffer from “social isolation” can significantly reduce primary care medical consultations and, therefore, the costs of medical care.
These findings of the R&D Group on Health Economics and Health Services Management UC-IDIVAL provide interesting implications in the current debates on the sustainability of the Welfare States.
