Health and social problems of the elderly: A cross-sectional study in Udupi Taluk, Karnataka

Health and social problems of the elderly: A cross-sectional study in Udupi Taluk, Karnataka

Blog Article

Background: Change in socio-economic status and various health problems adversely affect an individual′s way of life during old age.Objectives: To study the health and social problems of the elderly and their attitude towards life.Materials and Methods : Descriptive study carried out in the Field practice area of the Department of Community Medicine in South India.

A total of 213 elderly patients (60 years old and above) who attended the outreach clinics were interviewed using a pre-tested Vitamins schedule.Findings were described in terms of proportions and percentages to study the socio-economic status of the samples and its correlation to social problems.Results: Around 73% of the patients belonged to the age group of 60-69 years old.

Nearly half of the respondents were illiterate.Around 48% felt they were not happy HMB in life.A majority of them had health problems such as hypertension followed by arthritis, diabetes, asthma, cataract, and anemia.

About 68% of the patients said that the attitude of people towards the elderly was that of neglect.Conclusions: The results of the study showed that there is a need for geriatric counseling centers that can take care of their physical and psychological needs.The stringent rules for eligibility to social security schemes should be made more flexible to cover a larger population.