The health seeking behavior of the elderly in a coastal town in Vietnam and some related factors in 2023

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to describe the current state of health service utili-zation in the elderly, as well as the factors that influence it. Methods: The study design is a cross-sectional study. We studied 240 elderly people living in Thinh Long town, Hai Hau district, Nam Dinh province from January to March 2023. Using a reference questionnaire from previous studies and a convenience sampling method. Results: 31.3% of elderly people used regular health check-ups. In the 4 weeks before the survey, 25.8% of the elderly were sick/diseased. Only 22.6% of elderly people had medical examinations and treatment, and 77.4% of elderly people did not go to medical examinations and treatment. 50% of elderly people chose to go to private medical facilities. Gender and education level related to the use of medical examination and treatment services among the elderly. Female are more likely to seek medical care than male (OR = 4.86; 95% CI = 1.01 - 23.38), elderly people with a high school or higher educations were less likely to seek medical care than elderly people with lower secondary school education (OR = 0.15; 95% CI = 0.03 - 0.89). Conclusions: The elderly need to be proactive in monitoring their health and having regular check-ups. Keywords: Elderly; health-seeking behavior; coastal town; healthcare, health services.