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Abstract
In spite of the frequency with which researchers study service use, there is no clear consensus about how to best measure service use. This article provides a critical analysis of how service use is defined and measured among elders. Specific questions focused on how services are defined and classified, how service use is operationalized, and how the data on service use are collected. Through a comprehensive search of several databases, 20 studies measuring service use among elders and published from 2001 to 2006 were analyzed. Results revealed that most research focused on the health service use among older adults. Services were distinguished and classified based on type of service provided in a majority of the studies. The majority of the studies quantified service use dichotomously in terms of use and nonuse, whereas more than one-third qualified service use in terms of frequency of some unit. Self-report and provider records are two sources of information about service utilization among elders. The suggestions of how to improve measurement of service use among elders are discussed.
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