A STUDY OF THE MENTAL HEALTH STATUS OF OLDER ADULTS IN AHILYANAGAR CITY, MAHARASHTRA.
Keywords:
Aging, older adults, mental health status, mental health inventory,,Abstract
Background: By 2030, one in six people in the world will be aged 60 years or over. India, too, is
witnessing an exponential growth in the number and proportion of older adults, comprising over
10% of the population. The mental health of older adults is a growing concern in India that is
unnoticed and overlooked by the people. Data from a recent epidemiological study in India
indicated that 17.13 million older adults (total population, 83.58 million) are suffering from mental
health problems. Aim of the study: To assess the mental health status of older adults and explore
possible ways of interventions to improve the mental health of older adults. Research design:
A descriptive research design was utilized. Setting: The Study was conducted in an urban area
selected randomly from Ahilyanagar City, Maharashtra (India). Sample: A simple random sample
composed of 50 older adult men and women who satisfied the study’s inclusion criteria. Tools of
data collection:
Two tools were used to collect the study data: Tool I: A structured interview questionnaire to collect
data on demographic characteristics. Tool II: Mental Health Inventory developed by C. T. Veit and
J. E. Ware, Jr. (1983)
Results:
Relationship with family members has a low positive correlation (.330) with mental health of older
adults, and the correlation is statistically significant at a moderate level (0.01< P > 0.05). Negative
poor correlations have been established between mental health status and demographic variables
like educational status and source of income. It’s also reflected in the research study that there is a
significant number of older adults with low mental health status. Recommendation:
A health education program for older adults about mental health is recommended. There is a need
to raise awareness in the public and other professionals about the unmet needs of geriatric mental
health, develop adequate human resources, and strengthen intersectoral collaboration.
References
de Sousa, I. L. M., Silveira, R., Takito, M. Y., Pereira, A. L., Lucianelli-Júnior, D.,
Carmona, G. S., Viegas, A. P. D. V., Teixeira, F. B., Santos, O. S., & Valentin, F. N. (2022).
The impact of the social isolation in elderly Brazilian mental health (anxiety and
depression) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Frontiers in psychiatry, 13, 888234.
https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2022.888234
Yousra Alawady, Eman Abd Allah, Ashraf Elshora (July 2023). Life Satisfaction, Mental
Wellbeing and Social Participation Among Elderly Before and During COVID 19
Pandemic
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/373811506_Life_Satisfaction_Mental_Wellbein
g_and_Social_Participation_Among_Elderly_Before_and_During_COVID_19_Pandemic
Lodha, Pragya; De Sousa, Avinash1, Geriatric mental health: The challenges for India.
Journal of Geriatric Mental Health 5(1): p 16-29, Jan–Jun 2018. | DOI:
4103/jgmh.jgmh_34_17
Shuanshuang Tang, Harry Lee, Jianxi Feng (January 2022). Social capital, built
environment and mental health: a comparison between the local elderly people and the ‘
laopiao
’
in
urban
China.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/343165275_Social_capital_built_environment_a
nd_mental_health_a_comparison_between_the_local_elderly_people_and_the_'_laopiao_'
_in_urban_China
Daely S, Nuraini T, Gayatri D, Pujasari H. Impacts of age and marital status on the elderly's
quality of life in an elderly social institution. J Public Health Res. 2021 Dec 1;11(2):2731.
doi: 10.4081/jphr.2021.2731. PMID: 35238190; PMCID: PMC8941306.
International Institute for Population Sciences & United Nations Population Fund, India
Ageing Report 2023, Caring for Our Elders: Institutional Responses, New Delhi, United
Nations Population Fund, 2023.
Srijan Rai and Aparajita Bharti, “India Urgently Needs a New Policy for the Older
adults,” Livemint, July 24, 2023, https://www.livemint.com/opinion/firstperson/india
urgently-needs-a-new-policy-for the-older adults-11690176975727.html
“India Ageing Report 2023, Caring for Our Elders: Institutional Responses”
https://india.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/pub
Lekha Subai, Dhananjay W. Bansod (December, 2011). Building knowledge base on
Population Ageing in India: Working paper. https://www.isec.ac.in/wp
content/uploads/2024/02/BKPAI%20Working%20paper%201.pdf
70 per cent of India's older adults financially dependent, mental health issues and social
isolation on rise: Report (4 Aug 2025).
https://www.newindianexpress.com/nation/2025/Aug/
Preeti Sinha, Tajamul Hussain, Naveen Kumar Boora, Girish N Rao, Mathew Varghese, G.
Gururaj, Vivek Benegal (Jan 2021). Prevalence of Common mental disorders in older
adults: Results from the National Mental Health Survey of India.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajp.2020.102463
MacKinnon-Lee, K.-A., & Bahr, M. (2020). The Impact of Age, Gender, and Marital Status
on Age-Associated Cognitive Decline. Psychology, 11, 1236-1283.
https://doi.org/10.4236/psych.2020.118082
Rakhi Deavngan, Jeevan Korram, Basant Kuma Sonbar (March 2021). Effect of Gender on
Mental Health status of Elderly People
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/362724574_Effect_of_Gender_on_Mental_Heal
th_status_of_Elderly_People
D P. Saxena (2006). Sociology of Aging. Concept Publishing Company, New Delhi
Dr Prakash Yadav, Ms. Geeta Joshi (2019). Ageing in India Present Situation and future
Perspectives, Manas Publishers and Distributors, Jaipur
Dr. Devata Gasti (2022). Role and life satisfaction among Elderly. Manas Publishers and
Distributors, Jaipur
Paramita Roy, Subhashree Sanyal, Sasmita Patel (2022). Elderly in India (Edited).
AlterNotes Press, New Delhi
