Background: Population aging is a global phenomenon. In India, the size of the elderly population is growing fast. Many older adults have multiple medical conditions. Understanding elderly health problems and health-seeking behavior is prerequisite for proving comprehensive geriatric care to them.
Objectives: To assess the morbidity pattern and study the health-seeking behavior of the elderly people of Shimla district in Himachal Pradesh.
Materials And Methods: A total of 400 elderly people aged 60 years and above were selected from urban and rural areas of Shimla hills in North India by simple random sampling. Statistical software Epi info software version 3.2 was used for analyzing data. Descriptive statistics were used to describe sociodemographic and morbidity variables.
Results: The most common morbidity identified among them were musculoskeletal problems (55.0%) followed by hypertension (40.5%). Two third were seeking treatment for their health problems. Among older persons not seeking treatment for their medical condition, most considered these morbidities as an age-related phenomenon. Many perceived that the health services were too far.
Conclusion: The high morbidity load among elderly in the present study stresses for efforts to provide better health care to them and thus ensure that they remain active members of our society. Residence emerged out to be most significant determinant of healthcare-seeking behavior. Policy makers must focus on rural elderly and their beliefs which prevent them from seeking healthcare.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
|---|---|
| http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3894043 | PMC |
| http://dx.doi.org/10.4103/2249-4863.117421 | DOI Listing |
Publication Analysis
Top Keywords
Similar Publications
Modeling the determinants of cigarette consumption in Iranian households with children under 5 years of age using the Income and Expenditure Survey 2021.
Arch Public Health
January 2025
Department of Biostatistics & Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Infectious Ophthalmologic Research Center, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran.
Background: Cigarette smoking remains a significant public health concern, with detrimental effects on both smokers and those exposed to secondhand smoke. This study investigates the factors influencing smoking behaviors in Iranian households, focusing on households with children under five years old.
Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of 8751 Iranian households using data from the Iranian Household Income and Expenditure Survey (HIES) collected by the Statistical Center of Iran (SCI) in 2021.
Prolonged screen time is associated with increased severity of tic symptoms in children with tic disorders.
Ital J Pediatr
January 2025
Department of developmental and behavior pediatrics, Children's Medical Center, The First Hospital of Jilin University, Jilin University, Changchun, China.
Background: Recent studies have emphasized the association between prolonged screen exposure and neurodevelopmental disorders, though its correlation with tic disorders (TDs) remains ambiguous. We thus conducted this study to investigate the association between screen time (ST) and the severity of tic symptoms in children diagnosed with TDs.
Methods: We conducted a retrospective case-control study with 342 cases of TDs and 270 controls, collecting data from March 2021 to December 2023.
Persistent effect of salt reduction in schoolchildren and their families: 1-year follow-up after an application-based cluster randomized controlled trial.
BMC Med
January 2025
Yueyang Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, Yueyang, Hunan Province, China.
Background: A 12-month cluster randomized controlled trial (RCT) demonstrated the effectiveness of an application-based education program in reducing the salt intake and systolic blood pressure (SBP) of schoolchildren's adult family members. This study aimed to assess whether the effect at 12 months persisted at 24 months.
Methods: Fifty-four schools were randomly assigned to either the intervention or control group.
Habitual sleep duration, healthy eating, and digestive system cancer mortality.
BMC Med
January 2025
Department of Pharmaceutical Biosciences, Uppsala University, Box 593, Husargatan 3, Uppsala, 751 24, Sweden.
Background: Lifestyle choices, such as dietary patterns and sleep duration, significantly impact the health of the digestive system and may influence the risk of mortality from digestive system cancer.
Methods: This study aimed to examine the associations between sleep duration, dietary habits, and mortality from digestive system cancers. The analysis included 406,584 participants from the UK Biobank cohort (54.
Evaluating the differences in healthy lifestyle behaviors between Chinese urban and rural residency after the termination of social distancing: analysis based on propensity score matching.
BMC Public Health
January 2025
Henan Medical Communication and Project Forward Center, No. 6, Xueli Road, Zhengdong New District, Zhengzhou, 450000, Henan, China.
Background: During the COVID-19 pandemic, the social distancing has significantly affected the healthy lifestyle behaviors of residents. China ended social distancing on January 8, 2023, and the healthy lifestyle behaviors of residents after this time are unclear. The goal of this study was to evaluate the differences in healthy lifestyle behaviors between Chinese urban and rural residency after the termination of social distancing.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWant AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?
Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!