Preparing for Ageing: A Cross-Sectional Pilot Study at a Tertiary Care Hospital in Kannur, India

Mental preparedness for ageing in this pilot hospital-based study was found to be associated with financial stability, pension coverage, health insurance, and social support. However, the exploratory nature of the study, purposive sampling, use of a single, non-validated item, and unmeasured confounders limit the generalisability of the findings. The study's novelty lies in highlighting mental preparedness, a rarely studied dimension in India, and its multidomain perspective. These preliminary results point toward the importance of financial and social interventions to enhance preparedness, but larger community-based, longitudinal studies using validated tools are needed to confirm these associations and guide policy.