Exploring the Treatment Gap among Older Adults Suffering from Non-Communicable Diseases in India: Insights from the Longitudinal Ageing Study in India (LASI)

JITENDER PRASAD, International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS)
T V Sekher, International Institute for Population Sciences

India faces a significant challenge with the rising prevalence of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) among older adults, contributing to a substantial treatment gap. This study aims to explore the reasons behind this treatment gap and identify the major barriers to accessing healthcare among older adults in India. Utilising data from the LASI Wave-1 (2017-18), which includes over 73,000 individuals aged 45 years and above, we focused on 2,598 older adults (1,172 males and 1,426 females) aged 60 years and above who suffer from NCDs and have reported reasons for not seeking healthcare facilities. The results indicate that nearly 20% of older adults do not visit healthcare facilities despite having NCDs, with financial constraints (10.2%), work being more important than treatment (5.6%), perception of ineffective treatment (3.31%), and lack of nearby healthcare facilities (1.7%) was major barriers. Gender differences were observed, with 44% of males and 32% of females reporting having medicine at home. Additionally, multivariate analyses reveal that socioeconomic factors and health behaviours significantly influence the treatment gap. The study underscores the urgent need for targeted interventions to improve healthcare accessibility and affordability for older adults in India, aiming to reduce the treatment gap and enhance health outcomes.

Keywords: Health and Morbidity, Population Ageing, Longitudinal studies , Population Policies

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