Abstract: Ageing is a process whereby deterioration in the body functions takes place and the capacities of the aged to carry on certain functions or the day-to-day routine activities also start declining. The resistance decreases and vulnerability to catch infections and other ailments increases. It is therefore assumed that ageing, morbidity and health status of the aged are inter-related with each other. The concern for the health of the aged also arises due to the fact that there is a definite relationship between the health needs and costs. A sample size of 150 was selected for conducting this study in rural as well as urban elderly population and the study is based on door to door data collection with the help of a suitable questionnaire. Various disorders precipitating body break down include acute illness like pneumonia, heart disease, bone fractures etc. The data on the mental health indicate that a large number of aged suffer from anxiety (18.07 percent), depression (15.66 percent), sense of alienation (12.19 percent) insomnia (14.66 percent) and feeling of ill tolerance/irritation (11.74 percent). The physical health problems of permanent type in the senior citizens in rural areas include arthritis, asthama, loss of eye sight and loss of hearing and about 62 percent suffered by these problems. Further, about 52.62 percent of urban population go to government dispensary and primary health centre whereas; one third of the total tries self medication. On the contrary, almost 50 percent of the respondents in the rural sample experiment self medication or treatment through local techniques. With regard to hospitalization when suffering from permanent health problems, the data suggest that only 23 percent were hospitalized. The rural-urban differences indicate more number of rural senior citizens hospitalized in comparison to urban senior citizens.
Keywords: Ageing, deterioration, morbidity, acute illness, hospitalization, self medication.
Title: Health Profile of Urban and Rural Aged Population in Hills of North India
Author: Rekha Suman, S.K. Sharma, Anil Gupta
International Journal of Social Science and Humanities Research
ISSN 2348-3156 (Print), ISSN 2348-3164 (online)
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