Geriatric club attached to a primary care hospital as an effort to physically, socially, and mentally engage elderly: A case study from Kerala, India

INTRODUCTION: Ageing leads to physiological, social and mental changes. The case study shares experiences about the development and evolution of a ‘geriatric club’ attached to a primary health centre in Kerala, India and the early outcomes noticed among the members of the geriatric club. PROCESS: This club, established three years before, has become an ongoing self-sustainable organisation helping senior citizens to socialise with their peers. Meeting on a regular day every week at the health centre, with programs varying from discussions on health issues to entertainments like music, dance, festival celebration and film shows, the club has become part of all elderly patients in and around the health centre. OUTCOME: Outcome of the club was looked qualitatively and quantitatively through Focus Group Discussions and before and after comparison of Mini Mental Status Examination Scores and Geriatric Depression Scale scores of elderly club members. FGDs concluded that members were benefitted through participation in the club and the club activities helped them to get engaged physically, mentally and socially. Mean GDS scores of the participants decreased from baseline [5.43, SE 0.76] to after six months [5.20, SE 0.74] (P 0.006). Mean MMSE scores showed improvement from baseline [22.26, SE 0.69] to after six months [24.80, SE 0.81] (P 0.001). CONCLUSION: Geriatric social clubs attached to primary health care hospitals with suitable contextual adaptations can engage elderly patients physically, mentally and socially. It is hypothesised that such activities can have positive impact on depression and cognitive improvement.