Socioeconomic and Health Characteristics as Predictors of Social Support in Elderly People with Visual Impairment: Evidence from Serbia

Natalija  Djurovic; Snezana  Radovanovic; Olgica  Mihaljevic; Jovana  Radovanovic; Milos  Stepovic; Marija  Kovacevic; Katarina  Janicijevic; Gordana  Djordjevic; Ognjen  Djordjevic; Gordana  Gajovic; Nela  Djonovic; Tamara  Dimovic; Nikoleta  Janicijevic; Milena  Maricic; Dragan  Vasiljevic; Viktor  Selakovic

doi:10.18502/ijph.v53i10.16702

Natalija Djurovic Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Kragujevac, Kragujevac, Serbia
Snezana Radovanovic Department of Social Medicine, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Kragujevac, Kragujevac, Serbia
Olgica Mihaljevic Department of Pathophysiology, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Kragujevac, Kragujevac, Serbia
Jovana Radovanovic Department of Epidemiology, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Kragujevac, Kragujevac, Serbia
Milos Stepovic Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Kragujevac, Kragujevac, Serbia
Marija Kovacevic Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Kragujevac, Kragujevac, Serbia
Katarina Janicijevic Department of Social Medicine, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Kragujevac, Kragujevac, Serbia
Gordana Djordjevic Department of Epidemiology, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Kragujevac, Kragujevac, Serbia
Ognjen Djordjevic Department of Epidemiology, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Kragujevac, Kragujevac, Serbia
Gordana Gajovic Health Center Arandjelovac, Arandjelovac, Serbia
Nela Djonovic Institute for Public Health Kragujevac, Kragujevac, Serbia
Tamara Dimovic Institute for Public Health Kragujevac, Kragujevac, Serbia
Nikoleta Janicijevic Department of Hygiene and Ecology, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Kragujevac, Kragujevac, Serbia
Milena Maricic The College of Health Sciences, Academy of Applied Studies Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia
Dragan Vasiljevic Department of Hygiene and Ecology, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Kragujevac, Kragujevac, Serbia
Viktor Selakovic Department of Communication Skills, Ethics and Psychology, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University Kragujevac, Kragujevac, Saerbi

DOI: https://doi.org/10.18502/ijph.v53i10.16702

Keywords: Social support; Elderly population; National survey; Republic of Serbia

Abstract

Background: Social networks and support have an independent and strong influence on health and quality of life at all stages of the life cycle, especially in the elderly. We aimed to determine the level of social support among the elderly population of the Republic of Serbia.

Methods: The survey is part of the fourth Health survey of the population of Serbia, which was conducted in 2019 by the Republic Institute of Statistics with the Institute for Public Health of Serbia "Dr. Milan Jovanović Batut" and the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Serbia. The research instrument was standardized questionnaires constructed in accordance with the European Health Interview Survey (EHIS, wave3) and the social support score (Oslo-3 Social Support Scale). For the purposes of this research, data on the population aged 65 and over were used.

Results: In terms of social support, 85.8% of respondents had bad , 13.9% moderate and 0.3% strong. Univariate regression analysis determined that respondents from the territory of Vojvodina had a 1.6 times higher chance of poor social support compared to respondents from southern and eastern Serbia. The probability of bad social support was 1.5 times higher in persons who were never married/cohabiting, persons with secondary education were at 1.6 times higher risk of poor social support compared to persons with higher education. Inactive persons had poor social support 1.4 times more often than employed persons, as well as persons with comorbidities (OR=1.218).

Conclusion: These researches are of great importance for public health because it provides valuable data for the creation of interventions that will intensify activities related to providing adequate social support to the elderly.