Differences in health care utilisation between elderly from ethnic minorities and ethnic Dutch elderly

In the Netherlands, as in other Western countries, ethnic minority elderly are more often in poorer health than the indigenous population. The expectation is that this health disadvantage results in more frequent use of health care services.

We studied registered data on the proportion of health care receivers, frequency of use, and health care costs collected by a major Dutch health insurance company in 2010. Data from 10,316 Turkish, 14,490 Moroccan, 8,619 Surinamese, and 1,064 Moluccan adults aged 55 years and older were compared with data from a sample of 33,725 ethnic Dutch older adults.

Unadjusted and adjusted (for age and gender) analyses showed the following. Moluccans had lower usage levels for all types of health care services. Use of primary health care facilities was higher for Turks, Moroccans, and Surinamese compared with the ethnic Dutch, with the exception that physical therapy was less frequently used among the Turks and Moroccans. Use of hospital care was lower, except for the Surinamese, who had a similar level of usage to that of the ethnic Dutch.

The health disadvantage previously observed within most ethnic minority elderly populations does not result in an overall more frequent use of health care services. Further research is needed for the interpretation of the ethnic variations in health care use as potentially inequitable, by taking medical need, patient treatment preferences, and treatment adherence into account.