Rural-urban differences in the utilization of care by the elderly.

Nowadays the rural-urban dimension in sociological research is being replaced more and more by the direct measurement of relevant variables. In this paper the utilization of care by the elderly and, in particular, community mental health care for the elderly has been analysed by comparing a rural and urban area in the Netherlands with respect to the needs of the elderly and the availability of services. Based on a short review of the literature on rural-urban differences, two hypotheses on the relation between the needs of the elderly and care provision and utilization have been put forward. No unequivocal support was found for the hypothesis that the need and supply of services varies systematically between rural and urban areas. Elderly who are either physically or mentally in a less favourable condition do not utilize services to a greater extent. The availability of services has some influence on utilization. With respect to old people's homes, mental hospitals and psychogeriatric nursing homes, a direct relationship was found between the capacity of services and their utilization, irrespective of the area of residence.