Awareness and Utilization of Social Security Schemes by the Elderly Population of District Faridabad, Haryana, India

Abstract

Background: The currently young and productive country will be growing old in near future. The burden of elderly dependents is increasing and on the other side the informal care givers number is projected to decrease. Hence the responsibility of providing the social security to our elderly dependents lies on the government. Objectives: To assess the level of awareness and utilization of social security schemes among elderly of rural and urban Haryana. Methods: A descriptive observational cross sectional study was undertaken in the urban and rural field practice area of medical college in Haryana, India. A sample of 234 elderly (>=60 years) was interviewed regarding awareness and utilization of country and state specific social security schemes. The data is presented in descriptive format. Results: The awareness in the study population ranged from 6.8% to 85.5%. The majority of population had awareness about old age pension schemes (85.5%) and this was higher among rural as compared to urban but utilization was 41%. 32.1% of elderly utilized travel concession provided to the geriatrics in public transport and this was higher among urban area. Majority (94.7%) of economically independent elderly was aware of and utilizing any of the scheme. Conclusion: The awareness and utilization gives a picture of demand side evaluation of any services. Even if the awareness is good the utilization decreases for any security scheme due to delayed administrative procedures and decreased mobility of geriatrics.