Palestinian Family Survey 2010 Final Report - Palestinian Central ...

PCBS: Palestinian Family Survey, 2010Situation of the Health of the ElderlyAlthough population aging and the increase in the number of elderly people is considered a public health success story,concerns remain regarding the health of the elderly. In some instances, elderly people tend to be quite healthy; inmany other instances, they tend to live with multiple morbidities and different sorts of disabilities.Elderly persons in the State of Palestine were asked to rate their health conditions. Forty four percent of them ratedtheir health as average, 17 percent rated their health as less than good, and 21 percent rated their health as bad.Consistent with previous results, more women reported having less than good or poor health compared with men.Interestingly, more elderly people from the West Bank reported having bad health than in the Gaza Strip. See table 5.Overall, 66 percent of these elderly people reported that their health had worsened compared to the last year (70 percentof the women and 61 percent of the men). The same trend was seen in both the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.A very small proportion (3) said they had better health compared with the previous year (4 percent West Bank and 2percent Gaza Strip).Table PE.5: Evaluation of Health StatusPercentage distribution of elderly persons 60 years and over by their evaluation of their health status, region and sex,State of Palestine, 2010Region and SexEvaluation of Health StatusGaza StripWest BankState of PalestineTotal Females Males Total Females Males Total Females MalesExcellent3.5 2.1 5.4 4.0 1.8 7.0 3.9 1.9 6.4Very Good17.7 14.6 21.7 12.1 9.0 16.0 14.0 11.0 18.0Moderate43.3 44.8 41.5 43.8 45.2 42.1 43.6 45.0 41.9Less than Good19.4 21.1 17.0 16.1 17.4 14.4 17.3 18.7 15.3Bad16.1 17.4 14.4 24.0 26.6 20.5 21.2 23.4 18.4Total100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0Number of Elderly1,154 653 501 2,480 1,377 1,103 3,634 2,030 1,604Just like many countries facing aging populations, chronic disease is increasing and many elderly people are sufferingfrom more than one condition. Chronic diseases are the leading cause of death in Palestine. Cardiovascular disease,stroke, cancer, and diabetes constituted 4 out of the 5 leading causes of death for the year 2011.In the State of Palestine, 70 percent of the elderly population - 60 years and over – were suffering from at least onechronic disease or condition (71 percent in the West Bank and 69 percent in the Gaza Strip). This level was 65 percentin 2006 raising questions as to the reason for such a change. More women were suffering from these conditions (75percent) compared to men (65 percent). Elderly people were suffering from different chronic health conditions: 43 percentof them reported they have hypertension with more women (50 percent of the women compared to 35 percentof the men); 30 percent reported that they have diabetes mellitus; and 15 percent reported having cardiac disease. In2006, these percentages were 35 percent, 25 percent and 12 percent for the three conditions respectively.159