Comprehensive geriatric Assessment among elderly people Residing in rural area of Belagavi District: a cross - sectional study

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Many undiagnosed problems are prevalent among the geriatric population due to a lack of awareness about their health conditions. By 2030, 1 in 6 people in the world will be aged 60 years or over. By 2050, the world population of people above 60 years will double (2billion). According to National Census 2011, there are nearly 104 million elderly people in India; According to NFHS 5, age 60 and older 12 percent of the household population. Multimorbidity is a state with co-occurrence of multiple chronic diseases in the same person. Falls are the second leading cause of unintentional injury deaths worldwide. Each year an estimated 684 000 individuals die from falls globally of which over 80% are in low- and middle-income countries. Adults older than 60 years of age suffer the greatest number of fatal falls. CGA-based care has been shown to lead to enhanced function, reduced institutionalization rates, and lower mortality among elderly hospital inpatients. Communitybased CGA proves highly effective for individuals who prefer not to visit hospitals. Hence this community based cross sectional study need to be conducted in rural area of Belagavi district to assess the health status & Falls risk among elderly people.