SCREENING ASSESSMENT OF THE ELDERLY IN RURAL THAILAND BY A MOBILE UNIT

Using a mobile health unit, we conducted a survey to determine the pre valence of social and medical problems among an elderly population in rural Thailand. 3302 persons aged 60 years and older from 54 villages in Mae Sot District, Tak Province, northern Thailand, were interviewed and examined between November 1993 and April 1994. About 4% of those surveyed lived alone and most of them preferred to remain with their r elatives and neighbours in the community. The proportion of current to bacco smokers was slightly higher in men (55.5%) than in women (51.4%) . Men also had a higher proportion of current alcohol drinkers (20.3%) than women (5.3%). About 80% of the elderly reported having used medi cation within one month before the interview. Falls were the most comm on cause of reported injury, followed by cutting/piercing. The proport ion of the elderly who had difficulty with activities of daily living was higher for women than men and increased with age. Meal preparation was the most common activity needing help. About 58% of hypertensive persons and 75% of those with diabetes were first detected during the survey. Some persons with treatable disorders such as senile cataract and dyslipidaemia were also detected by the screening programme. Geria tric screening assessment using mobile units may be helpful in uncover ing treatable conditions among the elderly in rural areas.