Health Status

of Elderly
 Who is elderly ?

• No consensus

• UNO -NO standard criterion, but generally use

60+ years to refer to the older population

• 60 or 65, roughly equivalent to retirement

ages in most developed countries
Trends in proportion of elderly in
India
 Characteristics of ageing
population
• Feminization
• Single
• Working
• Growing more older
 Implications of Ageing
population
• a success story for mankind,

• the shrinking population of working ages,

• the prevalence of disability, frailty, and chronic

diseases the mankind may become a “global
nursing home
Health Problem of elderly
• Physiological Problems due to ageing

• Chronic diseases

• Accidents

• Mental problems

8
 Common medical problems
Eye problems • Skin disorder
Locomotive disorder • Gastro intestinal
Cardiovascular disease complaints
Neurological • Psychiatric problems
complaints • Hearing loss
Respiratory diseases • Genito urinary
complaints

13
 Accidents
• Domestic accidents
• Falls
• Burns
• Poisoning
• Suffocation
• Other accidents

14
 Psycho-social problems
• Isolation
• Fear
• Economic insecurity
• Low esteem
• Neglect
• Abuse

15
Elderly abuse –India ??
 Health status of elderly in
India
• Only 20 % healthy

• Average 245 days of ill health.

• Many have multiple complaints

• Eye problem most common

 Rights of the Elderly
• Parents cannot be evicted from a house without due
process of law if they have been staying there from
before.
• Under section 125 of the CrPC ,a magistrate can
order a child to maintain his old parents under the
Maintenance of Parents Act.
• The Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act
say an aged parent can demand maintenance from
children in the same way that a wife can demand it
from her husband.
• The Domestic Violence Act too provides
parents with the right to seek relief from any
kind of abuse.

• Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and

Senior Citizens Act 2008
 National Policy for elderly

• International Year of Older Persons. 1999

• National Policy for the older Persons 1999
• National year for the older persons 2000
• Ministry of social Justice and Empowerment
• National council for older person (NCOP)
• Bureau of Older persons
• Old Age Social and Income Security (OASIS) project
• National Programme for Health Care of the Elderly
NPHCE-2010
Principal areas of intervention:

Finance Health care Nutrition Shelter

Protection of life Media

Education Welfare
and property
 Government assistance
• Pension
• Travel related concessions and
reservations
• Special schemes – higher interest rates
• Income tax concessions
• Health insurance schemes
• Priority in alloting gas and telephone
connections
• Speedy disposal of cases
• 1978
• Largest voluntary organization, 3084 project
• Main activities:
 free cataract surgery ,
mobile medical care,
income generation & micro credit,
old age homes and day care centres ,
adopt a gran,
disaster mitigation
HEALTHY
AGEING
 Area potentially amenable to
preventive care
Primary Secondary Tertiary
Healthy habits Screening Rehabilitation
HTN, DM, cancers, Physical , cognitive,
anemia, nutritional functional
deficiencies
Immunization ,psychiatric Care taker support
problems ,fall risk ,
Injury prevention NCD risks
Osteoporosis
prevention
Family / social
support
Thank you