Social Problems of Institutionalized Elderly Women in Coimbatore City - A Survey Report

This study was done to elucidate the social problems of the institutionalized elderly women staying in old age homes. Aging is a universal phenomenon and is biological also. India has the largest number of elderly people aged 60 plus. Population ageing became an emergence of ageing and it is a social concern. Due to population ageing, there is pressure in all aspects of elderly care. This study was conducted in old age homes in and around Coimbatore district, Tamil Nadu. The total numbers of elderly women present in the registered old age homes were 636 out of which 400 were selected randomly based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Finally, all 400 samples were selected for this study. The simple random sampling technique was adopted for the study to take the samples in the old age homes. The fourteen items were used to assess the reasons for elderly women to move to old age homes. The result reveals that Among 400 elderly women, 86 (21.5 %) were never ready to move to old age home, 70 (17.5 %) were rarely ready to move to old age home, 83 (20.8 %) were sometimes move to old age home, 77 (19.3 %) were often move to old age home, 84 (21.0 %) were always prefer to move to old age home. When 14 reasons were ranked out, majority of the elderly women were ranked first for poor health conditions then for financial problem, living alone, no children or close relative, loneliness, become burden for the family, children cheating in financial matters, unable to adjust with children, having only daughter, difference of opinion with in laws / others, misbehavior from your children, mental illness, migrated children, and physically challenged were ranked one by one respectively by the elderly women in the old age homes.