Abstract
This is a descriptive type study based on data collected from two hundred respondents from a village of Mirsharai sub district of Chittagong district, Bangladesh. Selection of the sites and number of respondents were done purposively. Data were collected with the help of pre structured questionnaire. Frequency and percentage were tools for analyses. The study presented that 94.5% of the respondents practiced self medication at least once in life which was more common among the illiterate (32.5%) and people from age group of 30-40 years (33.5%). The study proved that literacy and socio-economic status has great influence on idea of self medication as illiterate and lower middle class people practiced it mostly by their own idea. It is found that modern medical treatment is the most popular (81%) for self medication among the respondents. Besides, many mixed outcomes are visible from the study. But the one thing has been proven that self medication is being practiced widely presently in the rural community especially among the illiterate and lower class people and the people are still unaware about the hazards of self medication. It seems to be appearing as a great problem of Bangladesh day by day.
Highlights
India is experiencing demographic transition at such alarming rates that it will soon be home to the world’s second-largest population of elderly people above 60 years [1]
This study was undertaken to assess the utilization of healthcare facilities by the elderly in the rural areas of Kanyakumari and to identify factors that are associated with healthcare utilization
Among the 250 elderly people, 60% (150) of them were currently married, while 36.8% (92) of them lost their spouses to death
Summary
India is experiencing demographic transition at such alarming rates that it will soon be home to the world’s second-largest population of elderly people above 60 years [1]. India, this means the elderly are exposed to the double burden of communicable and noncommunicable diseases [3]. In order to address the felt needs of the elderly and to improve healthcare service delivery in rural areas, disaggregated information regarding the utilisation of available services by the elderly and the potential factors that may influence utilisation patterns need to be obtained. This study was undertaken to assess the utilization of healthcare facilities by the elderly in the rural areas of Kanyakumari and to identify factors that are associated with healthcare utilization. Progressing population ageing in India translates into more chronic diseases and healthcare expenditure among the elderly. This study was done to assess utilization of healthcare facilities by elderly in rural Kanyakumari and to identify factors associated with it. Affordable and universal healthcare suited to geriatric needs have to be made available to the rural elderly population
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