Health problems of the elderly santhal population of Medinipur (West Bengal)

This cross-sectional, ex-post-facto research was conducted to examine the prevalence of different common physical health problems to understand the overall health condition of 321 elderly (141 males and 180 females) tribals (Santhal) Medinipur Sadar block. A structured interview schedule was used for data collection. Data of different physical problems/diseases were collected from self-report of the participants or previous diagnosis. The present study revealed that the prevalence of most of the problems/diseases-studied was high among the study population. Vision problems, joint pain, excessive intestinal gas, hypertension, and abdominal pain were very common among the elderly Santhal population. The elderly population doesn’t take medical help in most of the cases. Most troubling is their belief that these problems are inevitable, and part of the old age. Government health insurance schemes, more accessible health care facility and awareness programmes can help improve the situation.