Abstract
Background The world is on brink of demographic milestone. The elderly are one of the most vulnerable as well as high risk groups in respect to health. Understanding elderly health problems and health-seeking behaviour is prerequisite for proving comprehensive geriatric care to them. Objectives: The aim was to study the socio-demographic prole, pattern of morbidity and health seeking behaviour of elderly people of Katihar, Bihar. Methods A community based cross-sectional study was conducted in urban eld practice area of Katihar Medical College. A total 384 elderly people aged 60 years and above were selected by systematic random sampling technique. A pre-designed, pre-tested semi structured questionnaire was used to collect information and complete clinical examinations were performed among the study subjects. Data was analyzed using epi info version 7 statistical software. Results Among 384 elderly people studied, 52.86% were female and 47.14% were male. Cardiovascular diseases including hypertension were the most common morbidity (85.68 %), followed by musculoskeletal disorders (51.74 %). Majority of elderly people used to go to private hospitals (66.67 %), followed by government hospitals (22.14 %). Conclusions The study has highlighted that the elderly suffers from multiple morbidities. The high morbidity load among elderly in present study stresses for effort to provide better health care to them and thus ensure that they remain active members of our society.
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