Comparative Study on Economical Status of the Elderly Residing in Urban and Rural Areas and its Impact on Morbidity in a District of Gujarat

Introduction: During old age physical strength and mental stability decreases, money power becomes bleak coupled with negligence from younger generation. In our modern society, where money is the scale of everything, the old age people are measured as an economic liability and a social burden. Aim and Objectives: 1. To assess the economical status of elderly population. 2. To associate the findings with present and past morbidities among the study subjects. Materials and Methods: A cross sectional study was carried out in urban and rural area of Surendranagar district among 611 elderly, using a predesigned and pre tested questionnaire. The study was carried out by directly questioning the subjects with oral and written consent. For selection of the area, in both the urban and rural areas, the sampling units were enumerated and samples were collected by using simple random sampling. Data was entered and analysed using MS excel 2007. Results: Nearly 60 % of the subjects in both area were currently unemployed and their current income less than 5000. Most of the subjects in the rural area had no saving whereas their counterparts in the urban areas having the savings of meager amount up to Rs.1,000. For the financial dependency, majority in the urban and rural area were dependents on their family members. And also, financial Dependency had a statistically significant correlation with presence of Morbidity. Conclusion: The economical independence should be one of the top priorities of the health managers, decision makers and policy makers and it must be evaluated in both the urban and rural areas thoroughly. A special status should be granted to them and shall help in provision of basic services like bare minimum of grocery, healthcare and medicines. Healthy aging being a very important indicator of a country’s health status should be of prime importance.