INTRODUCTION:

“Do not regret growing older.

It is a privilege denied to many”.

The term geriatric is derived from the Greek word “Geron”-old man and iatros -“healer”. These geriatrics need the healing touch of people around the world. Ageing is a natural process that occurs in human life, with the changes in the body, mind, thought process and living patterns that declines functional capacity which reduces the lifespan²

The health and socio-economic challenges that are being faced by the elderly population are many. They are vulnerable to physical, mental and social problems. The commonest are economic and physical dependency, loneliness, insecurity, diminished Self concepts and diseases like asthma, carcinomas, cardiac diseases, diabetes, arthritis , osteoporosis and perceptual problems.

These problems are strongly associated with disability and difficulty in performing normal activities of daily living, such as bathing, dressing, eating, and toileting even after adjusting with other chronic diseases. People with at least one geriatric condition were twice as likely to require assistance, performing daily activities and those with three or more geriatric conditions were more than six times as likely to be dependent on assistance for activities of daily living.

The population of the senior citizen has been increasing over the years. UN estimates that global population of 60 years and older will be more than double –from 542 million in 1995 to about 1.2 billion in 2025.Over all 7.5 % of Indian population are aged 60 years and above majority are women. 51 % of elderly population will be women by 2016. A recent planning commission reported, every 4 among elderly population are depressed, 1 in 3 suffer from arthritis, while 1 in 5 cannot hear³. 1 in 3 suffer from hypertension, almost half of the elderly have poor vision. 1 in 10 experiences a fall resulting in fracture, 2 in 5 are anemic.

OBJECTIVES:

1. Identify the socio-demographic profile of the elderly population

2. Identify the health and life style status of the elderly population

3. Analyze the health and life style status of the elderly population.

METHODOLOGY:

Research Approach:

Survey approach

Research design:

Descriptive design

Population

People above 60 years of age residing in selected urban area, Coimbatore.

People who are willing to participate in the study.

Sampling Technique:

Convenient Sampling Technique

Settings:

Samples were selected from Selected Residential settings at Ramanathapuram area, Coimbatore.

Tool for Data Collection

— Structured interview schedule which consists 3 sections

— Section A: Comprises of the socio demographic profile of the Elderly people

— Section B: Consists of Assessment of- Functional Status Questionnaire¹ which comprises of 5 components

1. Physical functions (activities of daily living)

2 .Psychological function

3. Role Function

4. Social Function

5. Variety of performance measurements Each of these components included 6 Items of assessing the Physical, Psychological, roles, social function and the measurement of various performances with a rating of 1-6.The items comprised of both positive and Negative Statements.

Section C:

Health Status Profile Assessment Questionnaire⁴

Major findings:

1) Majority of the population 80% were between 60-65 years of Age and 10% were between 65-70 years and 10 % were above 70 years.

2) 90% of the samples were literate and 10 % were illiterate..73% were Males and 27% were Females.

3) 50% of the population were employed in private concerns,27% were businessmen and 13% were engaged in household activities.

4) 60% of people were supported by their children whereas 40% are self reliant.

5) There were only two family members in 75% of samples and 15% had 3 members and 10 % were 4 members.

6) 32% of the Elderly had 3 children 56% had 2 children and 12% had a single child.

7) 90% of the people had a close access to health facility. 10% of the population had to travel a maximum of 2 kms to reach the medical facility.

8) 72% were suffering from minor ailments like fever, pain, headache, and joint pains.28 % were suffering from Diabetes Hypertension and Cardiac Disorders.

9) In the functional abilities majority of elderly 65% were able to perform their functions with no difficulty,15% performed with some difficulty and 13% did not function efficiently due to ill health and 7% did not perform due to other reasons.

10) In the psychological functioning 33% were calm and peaceful mostly, 17% felt downhearted and 10 % were happy.

11) 58% were able to perform their job similar to others, 20% performed with rest periods and 13% worked at usual jobs with minimal change due to health.

12) In the social function 35% had difficulty in participating in social activities, 12 % were affectionate, 16% were irritable towards others and 22% were able to get along well with others.

13) On analyzing the health status profile it was identified that 62% of the elderly were maintaining a good health and 11% suffered from chronic diseases.65% were able to perform their activities of daily living independently were as 26% of the elderly required support from family for the performance of daily activities.

SUMMARY:

India may have a younger population but the number of those aged above 60 is rising rapidly too. These elderly population are facing majority of health problems due to ageing with the changes in the body, mind and thought process. This brings to light that the younger generation needs to be motivated to understand the problems faced by the elderly and take appropriate measures to enhance “Happy Ageing” of their dear and near ones. The study reveals that Majority of the elderly population were able to cope up with their physical activities without much of a deviation from normal. The elderly population look forward to their family and friends for their social, psychological and performance of various role functions.

REFERENCES:

1. Functional Status Questionnaire, (2004) Clinical Toolbox for Geriatric Care Society of Hospital Medicine retrieved from http://www.hospitalmedicine.org/geriresource/toolbox/pdfs/function_status_questionnai.pdf.

2. Heitkemper Lewis(2008)., Medical Surgical Nursing-Assessment and Management of clinical problems ,Mosby58-63.

3. John E. Ware, Jr. May 2005.,SF-36® Health Survey (Version 1.0) Australian Health Outcomes Collaboration (AHOC).

4. Tage S Kristensen, Harald Harnez et al,(2005)The Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire -a tool for the assessment and improvement of social work environment. Scand J Work Environment Health;31(6)438-449.

Received on 26.11.2014 Modified on 10.12.2014

Int. J. Adv. Nur. Management 3(1):Jan. - Mar., 2015; Page 49-51

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