社會中失能者未滿足需求之盛行率與其相關因素

Objectives: To assess the prevalence of unmet needs in activities of daily living (ADL) and instrumental activities of daily living (IADL). Also, to identify the relevant factors of unmet needs. Methods: A total of 2141 disabled residents, aged 50 or over, from 5 communities were interviewed regarding their ADL and IADL needs and unmet needs. Results: ADL unmet needs ranged from cooking (4.0%) to walking in the room (48.3%), and IADL unmet needs ranged from laundry (1.3%) to making phone calls (49.1%). Around 45.7% of respondents had at least 1 ADL unmet need, and 56.7% had at least 1 IADL unmet need. Multivariate analysis revealed that the location of residence, and the extent of disability were important predictors of ADL unmet needs. The predictors of IADL unmet needs were education, location of residence, number of chronic diseases, number of disabilities in IADL, caregiver's education, and relationship with the caregiver. Conclusion: The prevalence of unmet needs was generally high. In regard to system changes, increasing community-based care resources, and aggressive promotions to encourage its utilization may reduce the prevalence of unmet needs. Care management schemes could also be used to target the high-risk group and reduce their unmet needs.