Publication:

A study to assess the prevalence of common physical health problems among senior citizens at Sarojininagar, Lucknow

Background Aging is a universal process. Aging is generally defined as a process of deterioration in the functional capacity of an individual that results from structural changes, with advancement of age. Aging is a normal, inevitable, biological and universal phenomenon, and it affects every individual irrespective of caste, creed, rich and poor. It is the outcome of certain structural and functional changes takes place in the major parts of the body as the life years increases.

Methods A quantitative research approach and a non-experimental descriptive cross sectional research design was used. The sample size of 150 senior citizens was selected by using non-probability purposive sampling technique. Initially the investigator Obtained permission from concerned authority of Sarojininagar, primary health care (PHC), Lucknow. The tools used were, Performa of demographic variables, checklist to screen the history of common physical health problems and checklist to assess the existing common physical health problems of senior citizens.

Results The results of the study revealed that majority of the elders were suffering from vision problem (93.3%), hearing problems (56.0%), hypertension (42.7%), diabetes mellitus (42.7%) and obesity (30.7%).

Conclusions The study concluded that majority of the elders were suffering from one or the other common health problems while only few reported to be completely healthy. There was a need to create awareness regarding the reasons for common physical health problems, to encourage practicing a healthy lifestyle.