Older adults: their differentiated priorities in rural and urban areas in a Mexican population

Abstract

Although many countries in Latin America have signed the Inter-American Convention on the Protection of the Human Rights of Older People, much remains to be done in this population. The objective of this work is to know the current needs expressed by older adults in both urban and rural areas in a population of Mexico. By carrying out 5 focus groups (3 in urban areas and 2 in rural areas), together with the prioritization of the needs identified through a self-applicable and anonymous questionnaire, it was identified that the need considered in the first place was health care, followed by adaptations in the home for older adults in the entire group. The needs of culture/entertainment and administrative support, although they did not reach a significant difference in prioritization, the first presented a tendency to be more of a priority for the urban area and the second for the rural area. Exercise, training/development, and legal support were identified as having higher priority in rural areas than in urban areas. The need for clothing was identified in the last places of priority with no difference in selection between the groups.