S. Vishnu Sharma
IIT Madras research has called for greater government investment in public healthcare to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on the elderly.
The poor among the elderly would suffer more than others, says IIT Madras research.
IIT Madras research calls for great government investment in healthcare
As a result, their access to regular primary healthcare services, and continuity of care that is essential for those suffering from non-communicable diseases, given their dependency and lack of mobility, may have worsened further during this pandemic.
Overall, given the evidence on the possible hardships that the elderly may have already gone through during the pandemic and hardships that they may face in the future, the importance of strengthening the public health care system cannot be over-emphasized, says IIT Madras research.
Based on the 75th round of the National Sample Survey (NSS) 2017-18, IIT Madras research, published in the prestigious international journal Globalization and Health, found that:
Ø Only 18.9% of the elderly had health insurance and therefore they may not be able to bear large expenditures on health; and
Ø Further, 27.5% of people whose age is 80 years or above are immobile and 70% of elders are partially or wholly financially dependent on others.
Who undertook the study? IIT Madras research was takenup by Professor V.R. Muraleedharan, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences at IIT Madras, Dr. Alok Ranjan, the first author who was a post doctoral student at IIT Madras till December 2020 and who is currently Assistant Professor in the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences at IIT Jodhpur.
It is interesting to note that NSS survery covered 113,823 households and 555,115 individuals from randomly selected 8077 villages and 6181 urban areas.
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The results showed that disparities exist in health status as well as healthcare access of elderly people across the country.
Professor Muraleedharan spoke about important findings of IIT Madras research.
‘IIT Madras research highlights ways in which the elderly may have suffered even due to COVID-19 control measures, such as social/physical distancing that could increase depression, and lead to a higher chance of inflammatory response in the elderly.’
There are several such ailments specific to the vulnerable elderly population.
These are highlighted empirically, supported by other studies carried out in other country settings during the current pandemic, said Professor Muraleedharan speaking about IIT Madras research.
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The vulnerability of India’s elderly increases across economic levels, and other dimensions such as the place of residence, gender, social group (caste), marital status, living arrangements, surviving children, and economic dependence, says IIT Madras research.
The current COVID-19 pandemic poses a greater risk of social isolation among the elderly, which may cause detrimental health impact.
Missed treatments, unavailability of drugs also pose a major health challenge to elders, says IIT Madras.
Dr. Alok spoke about the relevance of IIT Madras research when it comes to tackling future pandemics.
The future is uncertain and we may experience such pandemics and adversaries in coming years and therefore it is important that we take lessons from the current pandemic to ensure that such disasters in the future are less detrimental to the physical and mental health of the elderly, said Dr. Alok.
The researchers who took up this IIT Madras research want to extend the result of this study to a policy.
They plan to carry out detailed surveys among the elderly population particularly in Tamil Nadu, especially to design effective rehabilitative care which is almost absent in India’s public healthcare system.
IIT Madras research group works closely with the Department of Health and Family Welfare of Government of Tamil Nadu.
Diabetes, blood pressure, cardiovascular issues are the grim realities of old age. Most of the elderly have either one or more of these underlying conditions, apart from a weak immune system they are likely to have.
The COVID-19 pandemic have made access to healthcare facilities more difficult and unlike the young, the elderly may have also struggled to adapt to tele-consultations and online shopping, says IIT Madras research.