Socioeconomic determinants of health inequalities among the older population in India: a decomposition analysis

This study is one of the first attempts to quantify and decompose health inequalities among the older population in India. At the same time, the study aims to examine whether these inequalities vary for the older population below 70 years and 70 years and above. The initial investigation begins with a bivariate assessment of the socioeconomic differentials in terms of poor health status of the older population. Subsequently, concentration index is used as a measure of health inequality, which is further decomposed into determining factors to find out the relative contribution of the different socioeconomic predictors. Decomposition estimates suggest that poor economic condition stand to be the dominant contributor to health inequalities among older population followed by illiteracy and rural place of residence. Comparative assessment suggests that socioeconomic inequality is critical for health inequality for the population below 70 years and 70 years and above as well.