Elderly in rural India: a health concern

Dhananjay W Bansod, Institute for Social and Economic Change

Life expectancy that was 40 in 1950, reached 65 years in 2001 in India, resulted in more than 76 million aged populations (60+), constituting above seven percent of Indian Population, and it is eight percent in Maharashtra. The poverty, isolation, neglect and deteriorating physical and mental health are the main concerned of elderly in Maharashtra. Elderly suffers from multiple kinds of diseases. The present paper is based on empirical information collected from 600 elderly by using semi structured interview schedule in rural Maharashtra, focuses on the socio-economic conditions and their effects on health status and quality of life. Issues like self perception of own health, functional health and mental health of elderly is explored under the domain of health status. Bi-variate and multivariate techniques used in data analysis. The main cause of weak mental health status is financial and health seeking dependency on their children or other family members.