Health Seeking behaviour is an important factor for maintaining health. This behaviour is influenced by the individual himself , the availability and accessibility of services. This can be a complex of outcome of various factors in elderly people.
Objectives: 1. To assess the health seeking behaviour among elderly 2. To identify the determinants of health seeking behavior Methods: Study design: It was a cross-sectional, community based study, done in an Anganwadi area of Budhwarpet- I of Kurnool city which consisted of 94 elderly population (above 60 years of age) Sample size: 80 participants Study period: October to November 2020. Sampling method: Simple random sampling. Inclusion criteria: Those who were willing to participate and gave informed consent. Exclusion Criteria: Who were not willing to participate and not able to give information. Study tool: A pre-tested, semi- structured questionnaire was used to collect the information. Data analysis: Done by using Excel 2016 and SPSS20.
Results: Out of 80 respondents, men were 50 (62.5%) and 30 were women (37.5%). Mean age of the participants was 63.73+ 4.83 years. Majority were Hindu (87.5%). Most of them were illiterate. (63. 8 %) Upper lower class constitute a maximum proportion (37.5%). Most of them (92%) had morbidities. Most Common morbidity was arthritis (46.25%) followed by diabetes (45 %) and hypertension (27.5%). Self - medication was found among 60%. Nearly one third (31.2%) had good practice regarding health seeking behaviour. There was a significant association between health seeking behavior and higher education, joint families and low socioeconomic Status. Preference for Government health care facility was associated with low Socioeconomic status. Conclusion: Health care seeking behaviour among elderly in the study was unsatisfactory. Special attention and support should be provided to elderly through planning health care services addressing all their needs.
Impact Factor
2022: 6.012
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