Table 1 Frequency distribution of background characteristics of elderly who make visits to private or government hospital for seeking treatment in 2014–15 in Pakistan (N = 5319)
| Â | Private hospital n (%) | Government hospital n (%) | Total n (%) | Chi-square |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Background characteristics | ||||
 Total | 3853 (72.4) | 1466 (27.5) | 5, 319 |  |
 Pre-disposing factors | ||||
  Age group (years) |  |  |  | 0.00 |
   60–69 | 2059 (71.8) | 806 (28.13) | 2856 (53.8) |  |
   70–79 | 1167 (70.73) | 483 (29.27) | 1650 (31.02) |  |
   80 and above | 627 (77.9) | 177 (22.01) | 804 (15.12) |  |
  Gender | ||||
   Male | 1770 (73.6) | 632 (26.3) | 2402 (45.16) |  |
   Female | 2083 (71.4) | 834 (28.5) | 2917 (54.8) |  |
  Place of residence |  |  |  | 0.015 |
   Rural | 3181 (71.7) | 1251 (28.2) | 4432 (83.3) |  |
   Urban | 672 (75.7) | 215 (24.2) | 887 (16.6) |  |
  Province |  |  |  | 0.000 |
   Punjab | 1975 (83.4) | 392 (16.5) | 2367 (44.5) |  |
   Sindh | 671 (65.5) | 352 (34.4) | 1023 (19.2) |  |
   KPK | 785 (59.7) | 528 (40.2) | 1313 (24.6) |  |
   Balochistan | 422 (68.5) | 194 (31.4) | 616 (11.5) |  |
  Marital status |  |  |  | 0.72 |
   Married | 2048 (72.2) | 787 (27.7) | 2835 (53.30) |  |
   Widow/divorced/Never married | 1805 (72.6) | 679 (27.3) | 2.484 (46.7) |  |
 Enabling factors | ||||
  Attended school |  |  |  | 0.00 |
   Yes | 638 (78.19) | 178 (21.8) | 816 (15.3) |  |
   No | 3215 (71.4) | 1288 (28.6) | 4503 (84.6) |  |
  Pension |  |  |  | 0.42 |
   Yes | 182 (70.2) | 77 (29.7) | 259 (4.8) |  |
   No | 3671 (72.5) | 1389 (27.4) | 5060 (95.13) |  |
  Wealth status |  |  |  | 0.003 |
   Poorest | 657 (70.9) | 269 (29.0) | 926 (17.41) |  |
   Poor | 716 (70.5) | 299 (29.46) | 1015 (19.08) |  |
   Middle | 729 (70.7) | 302 (29.2) | 1031 (19.3) |  |
   Rich | 785 (70.71) | 302 (29.2) | 1087 (20.4) |  |
   Richest | 966 (76.6) | 294 (23.3) | 1260 (23.6) |  |
 Need factors |  |  |  | 0.04 |
  Frequency of consultation | ||||
   1 | 1690 (71.9) | 659 (28.0) | 2349 (44.1) |  |
   2 | 1569 (72.5) | 593 (27.4) | 2162 (40.6) |  |
   3 and more | 594 (73.5) | 214 (26.4) | 808 (15.1) |  |