Health seeking behaviour of elderly in rani block, Kamrup (Rural) district, Assam: a community based cross sectional study
Keywords:
Elderly, Health seeking behaviour, Chronic illness, Socioeconomic status, TreatmentAbstract
Background:The current global and demographic structure is shifting towards a higher proportion of elderly. This phenomenon in which older individual come to form a proportionately larger share of total population in the community is known as “Population ageing”. Health seeking behaviour refers to the sequence of remedial actions that individuals undertake to rectify perceived ill health. It is an important determinant of health status of the population and forms an important component in formulating health programmes. The objectives of the study were 1) To assess the health seeking behaviour of elderly residing in Rani block. 2) To study the various factors associated with health seeking behaviour.
Methods:Total 390 elderly were included in the study. House to house visit was done and data was collected by interviewer method. Statistical analysis was done using SPSS 17.
Results:Out of 390 elderly, 68.5% belonged to the age group of 60-69 years, majority (82.8%) were found to be Hindus, 89% lived in joint family. Most of the elderly were illiterate (69.5%) and majority (48.2%) belonged to Class IV socio economic status. 72% elderly sought treatment for their chronic illness. Majority (51.5%) sought treatment from Government hospital and 98.5% received allopathic treatment. The most common reason cited for not seeking treatment for their chronic illness was financial reasons (63.2%).
Conclusions:Education, socio economic status and living status play an important role in health seeking behaviour.
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