A Study on the Health Status of Elderly Irular Tribal Women in Kancheepuram District

Abstract

Indian tribals are a heterogeneous group; most of them remain at the lowest stratum of the society due to various factors like geographical and cultural isolation, low levels of literacy, primitive occupations, and extreme levels of poverty. The present paper attempts to study the health problems of the elderly Irular women in three villages of Kancheepuram district. A total of 30 elderly tribal were interviewed using a pre-tested Interview schedule. Around 66% of the women belonged to the age group of 60-69 years old. A majority of them had health problems such as hypertension followed by arthritis, diabetes, constipation etc. The results of the study showed that there is a need for geriatric clinics that can take care of their physical and psychological needs. It further stressed accessibility of health services as a main reason for the elderly not availing the health care services. The study also suggested provision of mobile clinic to cater to the needs of the community every month on a selected date on a regular basis