Functional autonomy among institutionalized and non-institutionalized elderly population: with special reference to Kottayam district

Background: In Kerala, a steady ageing state suffering from large inequalities, the study of the functional autonomy of institutionalized and non- institutionalized elderly is important for the future health of our ageing population. The prime aim of this study was to evaluate the difference of functional autonomy between these two categories of old age people in Kerala.  Method: This study included 200 respondents. 100 respondents were from institutional category and the other remaining 100 were from non- institutional category was conducted in Kerala, Kottayam district between January 2018 to June 2019. The respondents of two category answered the questions regarding their socio demographic information, ADL and IADL activities. The author applied self-made questionnaire to assess the functional autonomy of the respondents and used descriptive statistics to analyse the data. Results: Non-Institutionalized elderly people are having well sophisticated functional wellbeing when compares to the institutionalized elderly people those have more depression and loneliness. The young old (60-69) elderly people have well functional autonomy than old old (70-79) elderly people and women had lower functional autonomy than men. And they have difficulty in using new technology such as smart phone and computer. Conclusion: We conclude the study with the point that there is a difference related to functional autonomy in this study while dealing with institutionalized and non- institutionalized elderly people.