Comparative Study of Psychological Morbidities in Geriatric Population of Rural and Urban Dwellers of Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh

Abstract

Introduction: Senility, poor health, dependency, helplessness, widowhood and low self-esteem are the risk factors that influence both the extent and severity of psychological morbidity and quali- ty of life.

Materials and Methods: This is a cross-sectional, observational, community based study on the geriatric dwellers of rural and ur- ban catchment area of RHTC (Rural Health & Training Centre & UHTC (Urban Health & Training Centre) of Dept. of Community Medicine, Rohilkhand Medical College & Hospital, Bareilly. The required sample has been taken using Simple random sampling technique by Random number table method. Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS) was used to calculate the psychological morbidities which is a set of three self-report scales designed to measure the negative emotional states of depression, anxiety and stress. The data was entered and analysed using SPSS version 22.0.

Result: The geriatric population under study which suffered from one or more forms of psychological morbidities in the form of De- pression, Anxiety and Stress was 93.9%. There was a significant association of stress with age.

Conclusion: The elderly suffered from one or more forms of psy- chological morbidities in the form of Depression, Stress & Anxiety. Depression & Stress were more prevalent in the urban population and Anxiety is more prevalent in the rural population.