Depression and Out-of-pocket Expenditure on Health Care Service Among Elderly with Chronic Diseases in Chengalpattu District, Tamil Nadu.

Late-life depression is an important public health problem. The geriatric care is a nascent dimension with many unexploited areas like familial support, healthcare seeking, and out-of-pocket expenditure (OOPE) on health. The study assessed the prevalence of depression and OOPE on health care services among the elderly with chronic disease conditions and its association between them. A cross-sectional study was done using a multistage random sampling technique; the sample size was calculated based on the prevalence of depression of 34.4% and a precision of 5% as 304. 63% were found to be depressed. Most of the elderly are having poor health (41.7%). The OOPE per visit in private hospitals (42.4%) is more among the elderly than those who visit government hospitals (57.6%). OOPE is directly related to mild to moderate depression among the elderly, and it shows significance (P > 0.001). Despite diagnosing for chronic conditions, depression screening has to be mandatory. It is important to impart health education to the family members about familial tender-loving care to the diseased elderly. Policymakers have to reckon with reducing OOPE on the health of the elderly by increasing good quality of geriatric care at both primary and secondary levels of health care.