%0 Journal Article
%T Measuring the health of the Indian elderly: evidence from National Sample Survey data
%A Bradley Chen
%A Ajay Mahal
%J Population Health Metrics
%D 2010
%I BioMed Central
%R 10.1186/1478-7954-8-30
%X This paper applies the empirical methodology of Lindeboom and van Doorslaer (2004) to investigate elderly health in India using data from the 52nd round of the National Sample Survey conducted in 1995-96 that includes both an SRH variable as well as a range of objective indicators of disability and ill health. The empirical testing was conducted on stratified homogeneous groups, based on four factors: gender, education, rural-urban residence, and region.We find that region generally has a significant impact on how women perceive their health. Reporting heterogeneity can arise not only from cut-point shifts, but also from differences in health effects by objective health measures. In contrast, we find little evidence of reporting heterogeneity due to differences in gender or educational status within regions. Rural-urban residence does matter in some cases. The findings are robust with different specifications of objective health indicators.Our exercise supports the thesis that the region of residence is associated with different cut-points and reporting behavior on health surveys. We believe this is the first paper that applies the Lindeboom-van Doorslaer methodology to data on the elderly in a developing country, showing the feasibility of applying this methodology to data from many existing cross-sectional health surveys.Improving and maintaining population health are considered important and agreed-upon objectives of health systems [1,2]. Not only is the average level of health important, the issue of health inequalities has also been prominent on the policy agendas of national governments and international organizations [3-6]. In particular, with a growing share of the elderly in developing countries such as China and India, the health of older populations constitutes an issue of growing policy importance.A reliable and comparable measure of health is necessary for undertaking health inequality studies or any investigation of the impact of policy interventions o
%U http://www.pophealthmetrics.com/content/8/1/30