Subjective perception of citizens' use of health services

OBJECTIVE To investigate the subjective perception of citizens on the use of health services and to examine the factors that influence it. METHOD The research sample included 312 citizens of the Regional Unit of Grevena, to whom a questionnaire was distributed, which included: (a) Demographic data, (b) health survey questions SF-36 scale, (c) questions related to the use of health services and (d) questions related to unmet health needs. Statistical analysis was performed with the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS), version 26.0. RESULTS The majority of the sample consisted of women, 165 (53%), whereas in terms of age, the largest percentage of participants was classified in the over 64 age group, occupying 31% (96 people). A total of 9.9% of participants were admitted to hospital and 33.3% had visited a general practitioner in the last year. In the last 12 months, 29% of respondents were unable to use pharmaceutical and dental services due to financial burden. Gender was statistically correlated with the variable of social functioning. In addition, there were statistically significant associations of age and educational level with SF-36 variables. The general health variable was also statistically significantly correlated with questions about health service use and unmet health needs. CONCLUSIONS The use of health services depends both on the perceived health level of the population and its demographic characteristics. Future research could use larger samples and investigate the role of other health measurement scales and theories, while similar research could be extended to other regions.