ArticlePloS one2022
Morbidities, health problems, health care seeking and utilization behaviour among elderly residing on urban areas of eastern Nepal: A cross-sectional study.
Article in PloS one, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
7 citing papers in PubMed, 12 citations in OpenAlex.
- Health status and lifestyle behaviours of older adults in a Hilly Municipality of Dhankuta, Nepal.BMC geriatrics · 2026Article
- Unmet healthcare needs, out-of-pocket payments and catastrophic health expenditures among hypertensive adults in Bangladesh.BMC health services research · 2025Article
- Social health insurance, family support, and chronic diseases as determinants of health service utilization among senior citizens in rural Nepal.BMC public health · 2025Article
- Article
- Health care systems and policies for older adults in Nepal: new challenges for a low-middle income country.Discover public health · 2024Review
- Health Service Utilization and Its Determinants among Senior Citizens in the Semiurban Area of Western Nepal: A Cross-Sectional Study.Journal of aging research · 2023Article
- Epidemiology of multimorbidity in Nepal: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Journal of multimorbidity and comorbidityReview
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
8 authors at 5 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundMorbidity increases with age and enhances the burden of health problems that result in new challenges to meet additional demands. In the ageing population, health problems, and health care utilization should be assessed carefully and addressed. This study aimed to identify chronic morbidities, health problems, health care seeking behaviour and health care utilization among the elderly.
methodsWe conducted a community based, cross-sectional study in urban areas of the Sunsari district using face-to-face interviews. A total of 530 elderly participants were interviewed and selected by a simple proportionate random sampling technique.
resultsAbout half, 48.3%, elderly were suffering from pre-existing chronic morbidities, of which, 30.9% had single morbidity, and 17.4% had multi-morbidities. This study unfurled more than 50.0% prevalence of health ailments like circulatory, digestive, eye, musculoskeletal and psychological problems each representing the burden of 68.7%, 68.3%, 66.2%, 65.8% and 55.7% respectively. Our study also found that 58.7% preferred hospitals as their first contact facility. Despite the preferences, 46.0% reported visiting traditional healers for treatment of their ailments. About 68.1% reported having difficulty seeking health care and 51.1% reported visits to a health care facility within the last 6 months period. The participants with pre-existing morbidity, health insurance, and an economic status above the poverty line were more likely to visit health care facilities.
conclusionElderly people had a higher prevalence of health ailments, but unsatisfactory health care seeking and health care utilization behaviour. These need further investigation and attention by the public health system in order to provide appropriate curative and preventive health care to the elderly. There is an urgent need to promote geriatric health services and make them available at the primary health care level, the first level of contact with a national health system.
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Registered trials
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