A Study on Health Status of Elderly Women in Urban Area

Cho, Dong Sook

Abstract

PURPOSE: The study was done to identify the perceived health status of elderly women and men, and define the difference between the two groups. METHOD: The subjects of this study were 209 elderly people over 60 years living in urban areas. The data was collected through personal interviews using questionnaires from September to October 2002. Data was categorized by content analysis and then data was analyzed with the SPSS program by frequency and Chi-square tests. RESULT: Elderly women complained of types of pain(leg pain, arthritis, lumbago, headache) more than elderly men. Elderly men complained about decreased levels of activities such as walking and general weakness. Elderly men and women have discomforts in daily living such as walking and doing household chores. First, elderly men and women want good health and improvement of health status. Second, women want happiness for their offspring, but men want to improve the government and the laws.
CONCLUSION
Elderly women want relief from pain, but elderly men want an increased level of activity. The findings of this study give useful information to conduct health education and care for elderly women.