Abstract
Background: As per Census 2011, nearly 104 million people in India are above the age of 60 years. While in Kerala, 12.6 % of the population is elderly. The government of India has launched various social security schemes and concessions for the elderly. Hence, objective of this research is to study the awareness & utilization of social security measures. It also aimed to understand the motivators & barriers for utilization of social security measures among the elderly.
 Methodology: A qualitative study was carried out in 5 geriatric care centres in the 65th division of Kochi. 7 FGDs were conducted in each of the geriatric clubs and 7 In-depth interviews were conducted among the Anganwadi workers, medical officers, public health workers, and welfare officers. The data was translated, transcribed, Coded, thematically analysed and conclusions were drawn after data triangulation.
 Results: The awareness & utilization of various social security measures were found to be poor among the elderly. This was attributed to the lack of awareness among the community level workers regarding same. Pensions, railway concessions, and vayomitram project were the most popular schemes. Financial security among the pensioners through the schemes was a major motivator. While, the lack of awareness regarding the schemes and delay in processing the applications were the barriers identified.
 Conclusion: Proper channelization of knowledge is important for the awareness generation among elderly and community level workers. This can further lead to effective utilization of the benefits provided.
Highlights
Over the past two decades, the world's elderly population has risen at a rate faster than ever before
Proper channelization of knowledge is important for the awareness generation among elderly and community level workers
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), it is estimated that in developing countries the number of people aged 65 and above will increase from 524 million in 2010 to approximately 1.5 billion in 2050.(1) Globally, an elderly people account for 8.5 % of the total population and in Indian one –eighth of the Indian population is above 60 years of age
Summary
Over the past two decades, the world's elderly population (aged 60 and above) has risen at a rate faster than ever before. Government of India introduced the National Policy on Older Persons (NPOP) in 1999 and in 2010 a comprehensive National Program for Elderly Health Care (NPHCE) was launched to ensure accessible, affordable and high-quality care for the elderly.(3)The. Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme (IGNOAPS) is a non-contributory old age pension scheme given to Indian elderly aged 60 years and above, belonging to BPL Category.(4) Over the years many schemes have been introduced to cater to the various needs for the elderly such as the Annapurna scheme for ensuring food security(5) , Rashtriya Vayoshri Yojana provides aids and assistance to physically disabled elderly (6), while travel concessions are provided by the Indian Railways (7) and Air India (8). The Vayomithram project provides health care services through mobile clinics for the elderly above 65 years (10), while the "Vayomadhuram," scheme
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