Analysis of perceived health status among elderly in India: Gender and positional objectivity

Abstract

Self-reported health status is often used as a simple index of healthy aging by researchers. However, respondents’ perceptions about his/her own health may be conditioned by individual and familial (micro-level) characteristics and, at the macro-level level, by social conditions. In this paper, using data from National Sample Survey Office’s surveys on “Morbidity and Health Care” (1995 and 2004), we examine how self-reported health status and the pattern of inconsistencies varies across gender. Given the observed level of gender discrimination in South Asian societies we would expect that actual health status of males will be better than that of females. Social conditioning can, however, mould expectations of women and lower their expectations about desirable health status. This may lead to a situation when perceived health status is better off for women. This hypothesis is tested using bivariate analysis across different socio-economic correlates like education, socio-religious identity, living arrangement and engagement in economic activity, etc. We find that women consistently report better health status than males. Econometric analysis based on a logit model, on the other hand, fails to find any statistically significant difference in self-reported health status across gender. In the next step of our analysis, we examine possible inconsistencies in actual and perceived health status. The former is measured by mobility of respondent and whether he/she is suffering from any ailment. Inconsistencies may arise when (a) the respondent reports any of these problems but perceives him/herself to be in good health, and (b) the respondent reports poor health despite not reporting any of the above indicators. Variations in the inconsistencies across gender are examined and found to vary significantly across gender.