Page 1 of 22
Journal for Studies in Management and Planning
Available at https://pen2print.org/index.php/jsmap/
ISSN: 2395-0463
Volume 04 Issue 09
September 2018
Available online: https://pen2print.org/index.php/jsmap/ P a g e | 76
Health Situation of Elderly People at Slum Area in Sylhet City
Biback Das1
Abstract:
The research is carried out to assess factor affecting the health condition of the elderly people in
the slum areas in Sylhet City. This research was quantitative type. In Quantitative approach,
primary data were collected and used from the randomly selected elderly people in the Sylhet
City slum areas. The secondary data were collected from many articles, documents, newspaper,
magazine etc. By analyzing the survey data, it is illustrated that the slum dwellers are deprived
from the basic needs. Meanwhile, elderly people can’t fulfill their medical treatment due to their
financial condition because of their work incompatibility. This study identifies the factor
affecting health condition such as financial condition, lack of knowledge about proper medical
facilities, communication gap between the authority and patient, unemployment, and so on.
These factors also affect their health situation. Many diseases like asthma, heart disease are
occurred. This study also mentions about the livelihood of slum people are so poor in condition.
Due to financial condition, aged people can’t take their proper treatment and their family
member can’t afford it. This study also understands that the people from slum areas are getting
concerned about their medical care. They are easily going to the hospital and take their service
because of low pricing. On the other hand, people are meanwhile stopped their treatment of
financial situation. This study finds the health situation of elderly people at slum areas in
metropolitan city and their consciousness.
Key-Words: Health situation, Health care facilities, Elderly people, Slum
areas.
Introduction:
Bangladesh has the third largest population in South Asia after India and Pakistan. According to
BBS (2011) Bangladesh has an urban population of about 4,19,43,532 or just over 28% of its
total population. Moreover, the urban population has been growing very rapidly since the
liberation in 1971 and at present 2.96% annually (BBS 2011). Bangladesh is passing through
technological, social, cultural and demographic transition. Consequently increase in awareness of
health care among the people took place, which led to the improvement in the quality of health
care facility. The older people are one of the most vulnerable and high-risk groups in terms of
1 An undergraduate student, Department of Public Administration, Shahjalal University of Science and Technology,
Sylhet-3114
Page 2 of 22
Journal for Studies in Management and Planning
Available at https://pen2print.org/index.php/jsmap/
ISSN: 2395-0463
Volume 04 Issue 09
September 2018
Available online: https://pen2print.org/index.php/jsmap/ P a g e | 77
health and socio-economic status in the society today, especially slum areas. Health status of the
older people is a major concern in Bangladesh. Bangladesh lacks medical facilities and
infrastructure to meet the needs of the vast slum population not to speak of the older population.
Older people suffer from cumulative effects of a lifetime of deprivation, entering old age in a
poor state of health, and without savings or material assets. In the urban and rural areas majority
of the elderly population suffered from weakness followed by eye sight , sleeping problem,
Blood pressure body pain and pin in joint . in rural areas more older population suffers from
eyesight, hearing and denture, weakness, sleepless, mobility, blood pressure, stiff joint,
constipation, pain in join in back rheumatic (Amirun N. M., Haque M. E., Siddiqua N. M. R. and
Haque M. I.2013). 4,966 slums and squatter clusters and roughly 34,20,521 slum dwellers (out of
a population of 91,36,182) live in the Dhaka Metropolitan area alone (Mahbub et al. 2005).
Studies on the effects of environmental factors on slum dweller’s health in the context of
Bangladesh are scarce. A few studies have been made on urban environmental health situation in
the informal settlements (Salahuddin and Islam 1982, Hussain et al. 1999). Therefore, this
study was undertaken to understand the health care practices of older people and to gather some
information about their perceive health needs using the information and over of Sylhet City. On
the other hand, unhealthy people are usually poor because they cannot work to earn a living.
They are usually malnourished and susceptible to diseases and therefore unable to work either in
the fields in rural areas or work in factories in the cities, and are therefore unable to obtain food,
shelter, and clothing. Thus, they become poor, and because they are poor and they cannot obtain
adequate healthcare and become unhealthy and sick and eventually they become poorer. We can
describe this as a vicious cycle. Keeping in mind the above scenario the current study has set out
two objectives: to analyze the socio-economic and health condition of the Sylhet City slum
people and to know the opportunities and other difficulties regarding their life and livelihood.
This paper identifies about their health status and their knowledge about health care facilities.
Collecting data from the vulnerable people from slum areas in Sylhet city and describing about
their current situation. The crucial focus of the study is to know the influential factors the health
care situations of older people at slum area in Sylhet City. This paper is also identifying how
challenges of health care situation of slum areas affect the care of the older people and
understanding the health condition of older people in the slum areas of Sylhet City and,
evaluating the health seeking behavior and treatment patterns,
Statement of the Problem:
As a global level, 50% of those living in urban areas in developing countries living substandard
housing. While the rate of urbanization is 4% and the slum growth rate is 6%. The urban areas
have always been perceived as a hive of commercial and industrial activities, especially after the
industrial revolution. This induced unprecedented rural urban migration which many urban areas
were not able to cope with. This precipitated serious housing shortage with led to overcrowding
Page 3 of 22
Journal for Studies in Management and Planning
Available at https://pen2print.org/index.php/jsmap/
ISSN: 2395-0463
Volume 04 Issue 09
September 2018
Available online: https://pen2print.org/index.php/jsmap/ P a g e | 78
and congestion. This caused the deterioration of houses, the associated infrastructure and
services. The governments assumed a “laissez-faire” attitude to housing provision. As such many
substandard house were built with inadequate facilities. People of slum areas , they are migrated
from various areas all over the Bangladesh for seeking a better life. Meanwhile, when they are
being unable to work due to their aged problems or may be affected many serious disease and
then they become unemployed depending on their family. People in the slum areas, especially
older people, can’t get proper health services due to their financial situation, lack of awareness
about taking health services if they haven’t faced proper financial assistance. They are facing
many obstacles to get proper medical services such as where from they get services, how do they
get medical services etc. Slum areas in Sylhet City, there is an overcrowded place where live a
lot of people within a small place. Due to overcrowding, Elder people and infant are easily
affected by many disease such as diahorrhea, and many water polluted disease. Even though due
to aged situation, they have faced many aged problem like physical weakness, heart disease,
diabetic, and other old aged problems. On the other hand, lack of appropriate knowledge of
health conditions of their cannot be understand so what’s problems of them. For unawareness of
their physical situation, they face many incurability disease like diabetic, heart disease, cancer
etc. One of the major point is communication gap. they don’t know where to get health care
facilities by free or easily. Sometimes they have engaged with many quacks like kobiraj, saman
etc. Many times, due to missing of proper treatment, the deterioration of their health situation is
occurred. This paper mainly tries to identifies about their problem of taking medical care from
their locality.
Rationale of the Study:
Health is one of the important human rights that strengthens the persistence of human being and
help them to increase basic capabilities. It is considered the important aspect by which humans
can escape premature mortality. The level of ill health reduces the amount and productivity of
man. Therefore human health is to a great extent essential for human and social development.
Particularly, elderly people of health condition in sylhet slum areas are very weak. But in slums
the common factors are poverty, poor-quality households, over-crowding, concentration of low–
income people, skilled and unskilled manpower, limited health care service and unhealthy
environment, awkward social structure etc. For these reasons health care situation of slum people
are very poor, especially elderly people situation is most vulnerable. Sufficient research papers,
articles are not available about the health care facilities and health condition of the slum elder
people in Bangladesh, especially about the elder people living in Sylhet slums. With the increase
of people living in Sylhet city, the impact of urban living on human health is now a growing
concern. The rapid growth of slum populations in Bangladesh is an increasing challenge for local
health authorities and deserves intensive investigations. Slums have often been conceptualized as
