Health-care of Elderly: Determinants, Needs and Services.

DEAR EDITOR, Ageing is a natural process, which presents a unique challenge for all sections of the society. Although the exact definition of elderly age group is controversial, it is defined as persons with a chronological age of 65 years and above. With gradual improvement in health‐care delivery services, life expectancy has increased and thus the percentage of the elderly population. It has been estimated that the number of people aged 60 and over will increase to 1.2 billion in 2025 and subsequently to two billion in 2050. Further, by the year 2025, almost 75% of this elderly population will be living in developing nations, which already have an overburdened health‐care delivery system. These demographic transitions essentially require shifting the global focus to cater to the preventive health‐care and medical needs of the elderly population. An ageing population tends to have a higher prevalence of chronic diseases, physical disabilities, mental illnesses and other co‐morbidities. The health needs and health related problems of elderly people cannot be viewed in isolation. A wide gamut of determinants such as social concerns (viz. children moving out of their parents’ home in search of occupation, leaving them isolated Department of Community Medicine, Shri Sathya Sai Medical College and Research Institute, Kancheepuram, Tamil Nadu, India Correspondence to: Dr. Saurabh Ram Bihari Lal Shrivastava, Department of Community Medicine, 3rd Floor, Shri Sathya Sai Medical College and Research Institute, Thiruporur‐Guduvancherry Main Road, Ammapettai Village, Kaancheepuram ‐ 603 108, Tamil Nadu, India. E‐mail: drshrishri2008@gmail.com Date of Submission: Aug 01, 2013