Socio-economic position and the use of preventive health care in older British women: a cross-sectional study using data from the British Women's Heart and Health Study cohort

Abstract

Background Socio-economic inequalities in health may be due to differential uptake of preventive and therapeutic medical services. Objectives To examine socio-economic position and self-reported use of six preventive services in a cohort of older British women. Methods Women randomly selected from general practice age/sex registers in 23 towns were examined from 1998 to 2001. Of all, 3652 women aged 62-83 years completed a questionnaire in 2003 assessing preventive service use. Results Women from manual social classes were less likely to have recent flu vaccinations [odds ratio (OR) 0.85, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.74, 0.98] and dental (OR 0.42, 95% CI 0.36, 0.49), eye (OR 0.77, 95% CI 0.67, 0.88) or chiropody examinations (OR 0.88, 95% CI 0.77, 1.01). Manual social class was not related to having recent blood pressure or cholesterol checks. Conclusions Among older British women, preventive services for cardiovascular disease are not socially patterned. However, those from lower socio-economic groups are less likely to have recent flu vaccinations and dental, eye and chiropody examinations.