PANAJI: Better and easily accessible healthcare facilities have improved the life expectancy in the state to 70 years as against the mean age of the elderly across the country, which is 68 years.
A study carried out by Helpage India on ‘elder abuse in India’ says the average life expectancy in the country is 68 years with more than 50 per cent of the elderly are above 70 years. The study further states that close to 75 per cent of the elderly are married, while just about 23 per cent are divorced. Around 22 per cent of the elders are widowed.
A practising physician, Dr Lloyd Souza observed that the average life expectancy in Goa has to be above than the national average because of the easily available as well as affordable healthcare facilities in the state. He said villages too are better covered in terms of connectivity are not too far away from Panaji and other major towns of the state.
He said the people are educated and awareness about diseases is good even in rural Goa. Besides, Dr Souza said several medical camps are regularly held on diabetes detection, kidney stone, heart diseases, cancer, etc. Consequently, the chances of early detection and treatment are much higher, which help improve life expectancy.
Efforts are on to provide better healthcare for the elderly even as Helpage India, Goa unit, is currently holding a preliminary survey to provide physiotherapy to the elderly at all the old age homes in the state.
The manager, Mr Dattaprasad Pawaskar said that 50 per cent of the old age homes have been surveyed.
He said that after the survey is completed the intervention for the elderly requiring physiotherapy would start. He also said the NGO is holding OPDs for the elderly in remote areas.
Throwing light on the elderly across the country, the survey states that the mean number of children the elderly have is three, with two sons and one daughter in most of the cities except Hyderabad, Kolkata and Patna, where it is four. Half of the elderly surveyed stays with son, while 27 stay with spouse.
Just about 10 per cent of the elderly are living alone and their children visit them, while close to 82 per cent of the elderly are literates. Close to 19 per cent are graduates and postgraduates, while close to 18 per cent of the elderly are illiterate.
Further the study states that 26 per cent of the elderly surveyed were homemakers, while 19 per cent were working as unskilled workers and around 20 per cent are currently engaged in economic activity with 45 per cent currently economically active are self-employed and professionals.
Further the study states that close to 73 per cent of the elderly are living in their own houses while 18 per cent are living in a rented place and the rest in old age homes. More than 57 of the elderly are financially dependent on their son and around one fourth are dependent on their spouse, the study states.
