Self-rated Health in the Elderly: A Comparative Study of Seven States of India Mondal Nasim Ahamed1,*, Mustafa Akif2, Biswas Mohai Menul3 1Statistician, Indian Council of Medical Research (NIRRH), Mumbai, Maharashtra, India 2Research Fellow, International Institute for Population Sciences, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India, akifmustafa13@gmail.com 3Research Fellow, International Institute for Population Sciences, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India, biswas.belief@gmail.com *Corresponding Author Email: nasimamu32@gmail.com
Online published on 25 July, 2019. Abstract Introduction Health status in the elderly can be appropriately assessed through self-rated health because it includes a combination of physical, emotional, and cognitive components as well as characters related to wellbeing and satisfaction with one's own life. Objectives To know the prevalence and determinants of selfreported health status in the elderly across seven states of India. Data Source and Methodology The present study based on ‘Building a Knowledge Base on Population Ageing in India (BKPAI)’ reports of seven states since the survey comprised only seven major states of India based on speedier ageing and relatively higher proportions of the elderly in the population. Published reports were obtained from appropriate sources. The present study made a comparative study of determinants of self-reported health (SRH) status of selected seven states of India. The self-rated health status contains three options: Excellent/Very good, Good, and Fair/Poor respectively (as reported in the report). Findings The performance of Himachal Pradesh and Tamil Nadu is awe-inspiring. In Himachal Pradesh, around 27 per cent of respondents reported their health as excellent which is highest among all the seven states. In Tamil Nadu, around 44 per cent of respondents rated their health as ‘Good’ which is the highest among all the seven states. The performance of Punjab and West Bengal is worst among the seven states. Age, sex, marital status and wealth have been found as the important determinants of self-rated health status of elderly. Top Keywords Health of the Elderly, Self-Assessment, Seven States, India. Top |