Health Conditions, Medication and Hospitalisation Preferences of Elderly in Kerala

Abstract

This article intends to study the health conditions, medication and hospitalisation preferences, and the determinants of medication preferences of the elderly population in Kerala. It is based on the primary data collected from a sample of 801 households and three old-age homes (OAHs) in three districts of the state, namely Kozhikode, Ernakulum and Trivandrum. The evidence suggests that the elderly population are vulnerable to various chronic diseases and they tend to spend more on healthcare. In the absence of public provision of effective healthcare services in Kerala, the elderly spend out-of-pocket on health expenses and choose private hospitals for effective and better treatment. However, those who prefer government hospitals mostly belong to poor and marginalised groups, including the inmates of OAHs. With regard to the type of medicines, the elderly often prefer Ayurveda and Homeopathy to Allopathy medicines. Based on these findings, we suggest that the government intervention in terms of more health care facilities and health insurance schemes for the elderly is necessary to improve their quality of life.