Health Care System of Elderly in India : A Sociological Perspective

The increase in human longevity in 20thcentury has resulted in the population ageing all over the world. Countries with large population such as India have large number of people aged 60 years and above. As the elderly population is likely to increase in future, it is high time that the healthcare system gears itself to growing health needs of the elderly in an optimal and comprehensive manner. Health care system is the organization of people, institutions, and resources to deliver health care services to meet the health needs of target populations. There is a wide variety of health systems around the world. In some countries, health system planning is distributed among market participants. In others, there is an effort among governments, trade unions, charities, religious, or other co-ordinate bodies to deliver planned health care services targeted to the populations they serve.

In India, Elderly are provided health care by the general health care delivery system. This is not adequately sensitized to the health needs of elderly.  In this direction, this paper describes growth and distribution of elderly population, the need to emphasis the health problems of the elderly population and additional health care through broader policy initiatives. With a brief overview of the health and socio-economic challenges that are being faced by the elderly population in India, the strategies explored by the public health care system to bring about improvement in the quality-of-life of the geriatric population is also analyzed.