A Study on Health Problems of Elderly People in Dhaka City

Abstract

Aging is a normal, physiological, inevitable, biological, and universal phenomenon in all living beings. The problems of older people are not merely medical; they are physical, mental, economic, and socio-cultural. The study used a mixed-methods approach that combined social survey and case study techniques with qualitative and quantitative methods. This study aimed to explore the Health Problems of Elderly People in Dhaka City. This study was conducted in Dhaka Medical College Hospital and Square Hospital Ltd, Dhaka. Two hundred twenty-seven respondents and 5 case studies were recruited using convenience sampling. The older people aged 60 and above who were willing to participate were recruited, and those who were seriously sick were excluded. The data were collected using face-to-face interviews. The data were analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software version 25.0. In this study, the mean age of the respondents was 65.7 ± 3.164 years, and the majority (63.1%) were in the age group 70-79 years. More than half (55.1%) of the respondents were male, and more than six tenths (64.3%) were Muslim. Slightly below six-tenths (60.6%) of the respondents were married, and the majority (62.1%) reside in rural areas. More than half (57.3%) of the respondents lived in a joint family, and 48.1% had 5-7 family members. A little above two fifths (41.3%) of the respondents were cigarette smokers, and the mean monthly income was 17645.034 ± 103.412 BDT. The majority (43.4%) of the respondents had the present condition of body ectomorphic, followed by 40.3% those with mesomorphic, and the rest (16.4%) had endomorphic. More than eighty percent (80.2%) of the respondents had loose skin, followed by 65.5% who had dryness, and 55.5% who had itching. The majority (38.2%) of the respondents' hygiene conditions were moderate, and more than sixty v

A Study on Health Problems of Elderly People in Dhaka City percent (66.1%) of the respondents were using spectacles. More than half (51.3%) of the respondents had normal hearing, 51.5% had no throat-related problems, 42.3% had gastric ulcers, and 78.4% had hypertension. Most (61.4%) respondents had pneumonia, and 68.7% were diagnosed with COVID-19. The majority (75.8%) of the respondents suffer from urinary incontinence, and 87.1% suffer from anxiety. The study revealed that sickness and aging are linked and that they are both natural processes. Senior citizens should be valued as human resources. The construction of counseling clinics that can address the age's medical, physiological, psychological, and social requirements is becoming increasingly necessary. The study's findings are expected to aid planners and policymakers in providing a better society in the future. Further support from non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and community initiatives to provide social and psychological support could also play a crucial role in enhancing the quality of life for the nation's elderly.