Morbidity Differentials in Rural Karnataka

Abstract

India is a signatory to the Alma Ata declaration and has committed herself to achieving "Health for All by the Year 2000". Since then, a lot of planning, effort and public expenditure has been devoted to improving the health of the people both in rural and urban areas of the country. Further, the spread and accessibility of modern medicines has also improved substantially across the country. However, inspite of these efforts, India is one of the many developing countries, which have high levels of morbidity. The morbidity of different population groups may have different implications on the national population. For example, morbidity among adults may affect national income while the growth and development of children depends on the incidence and type of illness that they may be subjected to. Further, the morbidity pattern among the aged is now of special interest especially in developing countries like India where their proportion has been increasing due to declines in fertility and mortality levels.