Global Journal of Interdisciplinary Social Sciences

Abstract

Impact of Health and Psycho-Social Status on Wellbeing of Elderly: Need for Social Work Intervention

K. Suneetha and B. Shyam Babu

One out of every ten people on the planet is now 60 + years. The Indian society has experienced far reaching changes in its social, economic and political set up. Psycho-social issues play a significant role in physical and mental health of older adults. Health is the most important factor for well-being of the elderly since they are prone to diseases due to degenerative changes. A study has been carried out in three districts of erstwhile Andhra Pradesh namely Nellore, Kurnool and Hyderabad to assess the health status of the elderly, to explore the impact of psycho-social changes on wellbeing of the elderly. Interview schedule, focus group discussions, Inventory to assess health status (Ramamurti, 1996) were used to elicit information regarding socio-economic and demographic and health status. The results revealed that there is a significant association between psycho-social changes and elderly health status, vice-versa on their wellbeing. The study revealed that there is an enormous scope for gerontological social work services to facilitate the elderly to lead a graceful ageing with a feeling of wellbeing.