The Effects of Social Networks of the Older Adults with Limited Instrumental Activities of Daily Living on Unmet Medical Needs

This study was conducted to identify the effects of social networks on unmet medical needs among older adults with limited instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) who live in a community. This study analyzed data from 2281 older adults with limited IADL from the 2017 National Survey of Older Koreans. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, X2 tests, t-tests, and logistic regression analysis. About 73.0% of the subjects were female and 15.8% of the subjects had experienced unmet medical needs. The predictors of unmet medical needs according to gender are as follows: annual household income, participation in social activities, and physical support for male subjects and annual household income, number of chronic diseases, living alone in a household, living with others in a household, frequency of contacting close friends, and emotional support for female subjects. The findings of this study will be utilized as a basis for establishing relevant measures to enable older adults to receive proper medical services by heightening the understanding of the gap between medical service use and the medical needs of older adults with limited IADL.