Abstract:

To improve the community medical services in Xiangxi Autonomous Prefecture,literatures review and questionnaire survey among 485 old people aged over 60 were conducted to investigate the medical service seeking behavior of old people.The results show that 43.7% of the respondents visit doctor when they feel unwell,57.3% of the respondents go for disease diagnosis and treatment,and only 7.6% for health check-up;6.2% go for their initial consultations at tertiary hospitals，and 32.2% at community health service centers.The most important factors influencing their selection of hospitals are the quality of medical care，convenience for treatment and medical safety，which constitute the foremost concerns for 33.6%，34.4%，and 14.4% of the respondents respectively.It can be concluded that the old people in this region frequently delay their medical treatment and lack awareness of health care;the community health service centers have been accepted but they cannot meet the needs of the community.Thus it is necessary for the community centers to improve their service,extend the service time,strengthen the medical safety,optimize the service procedures,and cultivate the public health awareness.

Key words: communities in Xiangxi Autonomous Prefecture, seeking medical service, old people