Health of the Ageing in India: A Case Study of Dakshina Kannada District

Abstract

Ageing brings both physical ailments and social problems. The major social problem of the old people is their fine-tuning to their nearby social world in common and their immediate families in particular. This study was undertaken to understand the health status of older adults and their satisfaction of health in Dakshina Kannada district. The study is descriptive an analytical based on primary sources. The various types of physical disabilities blindness, deafness, dumbness, disability from accident, congenital disabilities, speech defects, etc., the majority, i.e. 64.3 percent of total respondents had found with no physical disability. The various types of chronic diseases are high blood pressure, arthritis, asthma, kidney disease and peptic ulcer, diabetes, heart disease, etc. It shows the presence of chronic diseases in the respondents. Out of the total respondents, the majority of respondents (56.3 percent) had been suffering from chronic diseases. The study depicts the type of the acute diseases. Majority of the respondentssuffered from joint pains followed by fever, cough, common cold, heartburn, diarrhea etc. Out of total respondents, 73.3 percent respondents weresuffering from acute diseases. The data shows the distribution of respondentsaccording to the type of medical institutions they visit during illness. Themajority of respondents (72.3 percent) preferred to visit private medicalinstitutions compared to government medical institutions (i.e. 27.7 percent)because many of public health care centres have problems like improperhygiene, overcrowding and inadequate infrastructure regarding health,availability of doctors, medicines and necessary medical equipment. Thestudy reveals that out of the total respondents, 55.1 percent respondents had been found economically independent and only 44.9 percent wereeconomically dependent. Besides, among the respondents, 35.7 percent wereentirely dependent, and 9.2 percent were partially dependent. There is anemerging need to pay more significant attention to ageing related issues andits socio-economic effects and to promote the development of policies andprogrammes for dealing with an ageing society.