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DOI: DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.21088/jggn.2582.1407.5222.3

Abstract

Until recently, aging has been a neglected subject in India by both administrators and academicians. But the socio-economic scenario of the country is changing very fast. This has far-reaching consequences on the lives of the aged. The life expectancy of the population at every age is also increasing very fast. The increasing health and medical facilities in the country and improved standard of living helped to add years to life with the result that the elderly are living longer than they used to in older days. The main objective of this paper was to provide some information about the socio-demographic characteristics and disability status of the rural elderly. This study was conducted in the Mannadipet commune out of 3 rural communes in the Puducherry district. A total of 530 elderly were selected using simple random sampling and were interviewed using structured and unstructured questionnaires. It is basically seen everywhere elderly face more or fewer disabilities concerned with physical fitness. In the present study, it is also revealed that the majority of respondents are found to suffer from walking and memory loss. Differentials in disabilities across their gender background highlight that, by and large, the percentage of elderly women suffering from memory, visual and walking disabilities is higher as compared to their men counterparts.

Keywords : Rural; Elderly; Health Status; Disabilities; Gender; Ageing; ADL and IADL.

Corresponding Author : J Balamurugan, Assistant Professor, Department of Social Sciences, School of Social Sciences and Languages, Vellore Institute of Technology, Vellore 632014, Tamil Nadu, India.