CHENNAI: A study conducted by the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT-M), based on the 75th round of the National Sample Survey (NSS) 2017-18, has called for greater government investment in public healthcare to mitigate the impact of Covid-19 on the elderly.
“Only 18.9 per cent of the elderly had health insurance, and therefore, may not be able to bear large expenditures on health,” the study pointed out. It was published in the international journal ‘Globalization and Health’, according to a statement issued by IIT-M on Monday.
The report said 27.5 per cent of people aged 80 and above are immobile, and 70 per cent are partially or wholly financially dependent on others. “Their access to regular primary healthcare services, and continuity of care that is essential for those suffering from non-communicable diseases, given their dependency and lack of mobility, may have worsened during pandemic,” the statement noted.
The researchers aim for the results of the study to be included in a policy, the statement said, adding that they plan to carry out detailed surveys among the elderly to design effective rehabilitative care, “which is almost absent in India’s public healthcare system”.
The study was undertaken by professor VR Muraleedharan, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, IIT-M, and Alok Ranjan, the first author and assistant professor in the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, IIT Jodhpur.