Health-Related Needs of Older Adults in Rafsanjan City, Kerman Province, Iran

Introduction: Meeting the needs of the elderly in order to promote active aging among them is becoming more and more important every day. Moreover, careful planning is needed for principled planning. In this regard, this study tries to use Camberwell Assessment of Need for the Elderly (CANE) as a multi-dimensional tool, to get a comprehensive understanding of the health-related needs of the elderly population of Rafsanjan city, Kerman province, Iran. Methods: This cross-sectional study conducted with the participation of 267 elderly people in Rafsanjan city in 2020. Eligible elderlies were randomly selected from 6 comprehensive health centers of the city. A briefing session was held for the participants and their written consent was obtained to participate in the study voluntarily, then the demographic information and the CANE questionnaire were completed via private interview with the participants. Results:  The highest frequency of unmet needs was in the context of psychological needs (mental disorders 12/3 %), and then in the context of physical needs:  memory (9/3 %), and in the context of environmental requirements: Accommodation (5/2%). The highest frequency of met needs in the context of physical need were, medication (67/5 %) and physical health (64 %)  and the most cases of lack of need were psychological needs including : receiving salaries and benefits, drinking alcohol, intentional self-harm and accidental self-harm. The highest rate of receiving help from informal caregivers was in the context of psychological distress (0/4), and regarding receiving aid from formal services, were, looking after the home and physical health was (0/4%). Conclusion: Most of the unmet needs of seniors are in the context of psychological needs and then in the context of physical needs, and environmental and care needs are the lowest priority. therefore, planning is proposed to meet the unmet needs of older persons.