One of the development goals in the National Medium-Term

Development Plan 2020 - 2024 is to establish quality and

competitive human resources, namely healthy and smart, adaptive,
innovative, skilled, and characterized human resources (Elderly
Statistics 2019). One way to achieve these goals, human
development policy is directed at meeting basic services and
social protection, including paying attention to the needs of the
elderly population (National development planning agency /
BAppenas, 2019).

The success of development in all fields, especially in the

health sector, will improve the quality of life and public
health. This will ultimately have an impact on increasing life
expectancy and the number of elderly residents from year to year.
This is what is currently happening in Indonesia. Increasing the
number of elderly population in the future can have both positive
and negative impacts. It will have a positive impact if the
elderly population is in a healthy, active and productive state.
On the other hand, increasing the number of the elderly
population will become a burden if the elderly have a problem of
declining health (Ministry of Health of the Republic of
Indonesia, 2017).

According to the Law of the Republic of Indonesia Number 36 Year

2009 regarding Health, the definition of health is a state of
health both physically, mentally, spiritually and socially that
enables everyone to live productively socially and economically.
In realizing health, everyone has the same right to obtain safe,
quality and affordable health services, including the elderly
population. The health services are intended to maintain and
improve their health status and ability so that their physical,
mental and social condition can function properly.

ELDERLY HEALTH CONDITIONS

The aging process that occurs will have an impact on various

aspects of life, especially health. Elderly people will
biologically experience an aging process that is characterized by
decreased physical endurance. This can make the body more
vulnerable to certain diseases, which are detected through health
complaints.
The concept and definition of health complaints used in Susenas
is the condition of a person suffering from health or mental
health problems, both due to disorders / illnesses that are often
experienced by residents such as heat, colds, diarrhea,
dizziness, headaches, as well as due to acute illness, chronic
illness, accidents, criminality or other complaints. Health
complaints do not always result in disruption of daily
activities. However, the occurrence of health complaints and the
types of complaints experienced by residents can describe the
level / degree of health roughly.

Half of the elderly in Indonesia experience health complaints and

the percentage increases with increasing age. When viewed by sex,
health complaints in elderly women (52.31 percent) were higher in
percentage compared to elderly men (49.74 percent). Furthermore,
there are more elderly people with disabilities who experience
health complaints than elderly who do not have disabilities.

Meanwhile, the condition of illness is a health complaint that

interferes with daily activities so that it cannot carry out
activities normally as usual. The percentage of elderly people
who are sick is also called morbidity rate. The morbidity rate is
one indicator used to measure health status. The higher the
morbidity rate, the worse the health status of the population.
Conversely, the lower the morbidity rate, the better the health
status of the population.

The morbidity rate for the elderly population in 2019 is 26.20

percent. That is, there are 26 to 27 elderly who are sick of 100
elderly. The morbidity rate for the elderly in urban areas (23.93
percent) is lower than the elderly in rural areas (28.73
percent). This shows that the degree of health of the elderly in
urban areas is relatively better than the health status of the
elderly in rural areas. In the last five years, the morbidity
rate for the elderly population has tended to fall even though
the decline is relatively not too large. The decline shows an
indication of the degree of public health that is getting better.

Search Behavior for Elderly Medications

When the elderly experience health complaints, moreover those
complaints interfere with daily activities, various efforts will
be made to be able to be healthy and have normal activities. One
of the efforts made is through treatment seeking behavior. The
behavior can be done independently (self-medication) or by
visiting a health service (outpatient).