Search results

The locational disadvantage of a health-care centre often restricts adequate delivery of health-care services in an area. The purpose of this study is to examine the status of primary health-care services in such a geographically disadvantageous area which is confined by forests, tea gardens and undulating topography.

Necessary secondary data of 13 primary health centres and 236 sub-centres has been collected from the Office of the Chief Medical Officer of Health. Based on obtained data, Health-care Infrastructure Index has been prepared which has been validated by an expert panel, and subsequently, the Thiessen Polygon method has been applied through Arc GIS software to show spatial variation of health-care services delivered by different health-care centres.

In the study area, there is wide variation found in the case of physical facilities, caregivers and connectivity of road networks, which altogether affect the overall status of health-care services. Among all the indicators, some health-care centres experience staff shortages for prolonged non-recruitment, inaccessibility and inconsistent patient load in different health centres.

In spite of the unfavourable geographical landscape, health-care centres have to be set up wherever possible. There is a need to make new roads and simultaneously the existing road connectivity should be improved so that patients and caregivers can move quickly whenever required. Existing physical facilities need to be renewed or redeveloped along with increasing the number of doctors and other health-care providers as per the need of people with an adequate and optimum level of services.

Alienation and isolation is an off-seen social aspect of gerontological crises. The purpose of this paper is to focus on the social isolation and loneliness of older people that emerge from inadequate integration with the social network, coupled with increasing social chasm between the aged and the young. The sample population is Cooch Behar municipal town, West Bengal, India.

To conduct the study, data have been collected through a questionnaire followed by purposive random sampling and analyzed with the help of loneliness scale and correlated variables.

The study reveals that marital status, social network, social class and health are some of the parameters that influence the level of social isolation and loneliness among the older people.

The result highlights the importance of social relationships and interaction on the ageing process.