International Rural Aging Project

Invited Symposia

Health Status of the Rural Elderly

Convener: Vinod Kumar, New Delhi, India
Member, WHO Expert Advisory Panel on Aging and Health; member, National Council for Older Persons, Government of India

Time 1:30 – 3 p.m.
Date Friday, June 9
Location Room 104, Civic Center

Abstract / Introduction:
Vinod Kumar, New Delhi, India

The health challenges of the elderly, including rural elderly, are enormous. Wide variation in health status and health related quality of life (HRQOL) of elderly persons calls for proper identification and estimation of their needs for health interventions. This is particularly important for rural elderly, because their problems remain relatively un-addressed. Half of the world’s elderly and two-thirds of the developing world’s elderly live in villages and are vulnerable to greater socioeconomic and health marginalisation. This symposium highlights the health status of rural elderly from Latin American, African, Indian and US perspectives, and also includes a paper on the WHO approach to these issues.Rural data from HelpAge Ghana participatory research, studies from the Indian Council of Medical Research multi-centric projects, the Indian National Sample Survey Organization and the US Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System and others will be discussed. Prevalence of diseases and disabilities in elderly is several folds those in the young. A huge disease burden with a significant prevalence rate of hypertension, coronary heart disease, and diabetes (11, 11.7 and 5.3% respectively), and of visual, hearing, and mental impairment (17.2, 59.6, and 2%) has been reported among Indian elderly. Similar data and information on self-perceived health, assessed health and functioning from various presentations in this symposium are useful for designing care strategies. The influence of sociodemographic variables and risk factor status on the above parameters also will be presented. Rural and urban data will be compared.
One of the greatest challenges of the twenty-first century will be ensuring the quality of life (QOL) of an unprecedentedly large elderly population. Central to this challenge is health, which is seen by all societies as the most valuable asset for a good QOL. An accompanying necessity to meet this challenge will be that of providing training to specialists, primary health care workers, and non-professional and family caregivers. Such an approach supported with locally prevalent useful cultural traditions and in-built components of preventive care and community based rehabilitation would be valuable.

Health Status of Rural Elderly in Latin America
Miguel Angel Acanfora, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Health Risk Behaviors, Preventive Services Use, and Health-related Quality of Life among US Rural Elders
Catherine H. Hennessy, Atlanta, Georgia, US

Aging, Health and Well-Being: Perspectives from Rural Ghana
Nana Apt, Legon, Ghana

WHO Approach to Health Problems of Rural Elderly
Alexandre Kalache, Geneva, Switzerland

Health Status of Rural Elderly in India
Vinod Kumar, New Delhi, India

Continuing Education Credits
WV Social Work: 1.5 hrs
WV Psych: 1.5 hrs
1.5 AMA Category 1 CME