Aging, Disability and Health Care Services among Older Persons in India

Kunal Keshri, International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS)
Gopal Agrawal, International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS)
Kirti Gaur, International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS)

This study aims to investigate patterns in disability prevalence among older persons and their health care seeking behavior and to see how they vary between the two socio-demographically different states utilizing 58th round National Sample Survey data on disabled persons. The states in focus are Kerala, the state well advanced in health transition processes and Uttar Pradesh, the state lagging in these processes. Overall prevalence of disabilities is higher in Kerala compared with Uttar Pradesh. Locomotion, speech, mental and hearing disabilities are more prevalent in Kerala, while Uttar Pradesh leads in visual disability. Elderly in Kerala are having greater likelihood of seeking treatment for reported disabilities. Paper has documented critical evidence that disability and health care utilization rates are on the rise among older persons. At the same time, substantial disparities are demonstrated in the pattern of disability prevalence and health care utilization by socio-demographic factors and the states.