Economic Status and Old-Age Health in Poverty-Stricken Myanmar

• Main Authors: TEERAWICHITCHAINAN, Bussarawan, KNODEL, John
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University 2015
• Subjects: Economic/SES gradients in health; Poverty; Least developed countries; Myanmar; Asian Studies; Gerontology; Inequality and Stratification; Medicine and Health
• Online Access: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/soss_research/1876; https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/context/soss_research/article/3133/viewcontent/J_Aging_Health_2015_Teerawichitchainan_0898264315584577.pdf
• Institution: Singapore Management University

Objective: We examine the association between poverty, economic inequality, and health among elderly in Myanmar. Method: We analyze 2012 data from Myanmar’s first representative survey of older adults to investigate how health indicators vary across wealth quintiles as measured by household possessions and housing quality. Results: Poverty and poor health are pervasive. Self-assessed health, sensory impairment, and functional limitation consistently improve with higher wealth levels regardless of socio-demographic controls. Differentials in self-rated health and sensory impairment between the bottom and second quintiles are clearly evident, suggesting that relative economic inequality matters even among very poor elders and that a small difference in wealth can matter in an extreme poverty setting. Discussion: Findings support a global theory of economic gradients in health regardless of level of societal poverty. Modest efforts to improve the standard of living among elderly may improve not only their material well-being but also their health.