Current Health Problems and Health Related Behaviour of Nepalese Rural Senior Citizens: A Community Cross-Sectional Study

Introduction/objective: An accelerated aging population is a global challenge. Both physiological and psychological problems may develop due to aging’s physiological process. The chronic non-communicable diseases are common among Nepalese senior people with the occurrence of multi-morbidity. Elderly health related behaviour is an important asset for promotion and maintenance of their health. The study’s objective was to identify current health problems and health related behaviour of the senior citizens in selected rural communities. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among 120 Nepalese elderly aged 60 to 75 years in rural communities of Nuwakot district in 2021 using validated semi-structured questionnaire. By obtaining an informed consent, the data was collected using interview technique after multi-stage cluster random sampling. The data was analyzed descriptively by using 20.0 version of IBM SPSS. Results: The socio-demographic findings showed that common age group of the senior was 60-64 years (45.8%), majority were female (59.1%), Brahmin ethnicity (48.3%) and illiterate (59.1%). Their commonest health problems were gastritis (45.0%), arthritis (34.1%), chronic pain/backache (31.6%), sleep problems (25.0%), asthma and hypertension (24.1%). Health related behaviour also seemed alarming i.e. no regular physical exercise (87.5%), inadequate daily water intake (2-4 glass by 48.3%), food (two times by 51.6%), no regular health check-up (92.5%), health screening test (95.8%), used self-medication without prescription by 51.6% and substance taking behaviour by 56.6% of the older people. Conclusion: Senior citizens have multiple health problems, more physical than mental. They have poor and risky health related behaviour such as inadequate intake and careless in health check up and use of medicine and harmful substances. Hence, regular assessment and careful structured interventions are immediate need of the seniors. Key words: Current health problems, Health related behaviour, Senior citizens, Rural community