Health status of the urban aged in Tamilnadu: a study of perceptions with reference to Madurai District

Ramu Hariharan, Annamalai University

Background: Health care of the aged is a major concern of a society as old people are more prone to morbidity than young age groups. Most primary surveys have reported that the aged in India have serious health problems. Methods: The required data for this study were selected 160 households with aged persons to get 40 aged persons comprising 20 males and 20 females from each of these four urban wards giving an area sample from Madurai City Corporation in Madurai District of Tamilnadu. Findings: Majority of the respondent’s income source comes from combination salary, pension and financial investments (44.4%). The most common health problems of aged people face hypertension (40.6%) and stroke. More number of aged was hospitalised (40.6%) and taking treatment (78.8%) during the last one year period. Respondents' marital status, family type, present employment and source of income are significantly affecting the health status of the aged population.