ArticleCureus2026
Elderly Friendliness of Hospitals in the Ernakulam District of Kerala, India: A Cross-Sectional Study.
Article in Cureus, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundAn aging population is a major demographic transition with significant implications for healthcare systems, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. Ensuring age-friendly healthcare services is essential to meet the complex needs of the elderly population.
objectiveThe objective of this study was to assess the elderly friendliness of government and private hospitals in Ernakulam district, Kerala, India.
methodsA cross-sectional study was conducted among 70 hospitals (34 government and 36 private) with inpatient facilities in Ernakulam district. A structured checklist was used to assess six domains: accessibility, medical care services, physical environment, inpatient services, admission and billing, and spiritual environment. Data were collected through interviews with administrative personnel and direct observation and analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistical methods.
resultsThe mean elderly friendliness score was 27.36 ± 4.78. Overall, 31 (44.3%) hospitals were classified as elderly friendly. Among these, a higher proportion were private hospitals (52.8%) compared with government hospitals (35.3%). The physical environment domain showed the highest performance, whereas accessibility performed the poorest. Private hospitals scored significantly higher in admission and billing (p=0.002) and spiritual environment (p=0.001). Government hospitals showed higher scores in medical care services, but the difference was not statistically significant (p=0.057). No significant difference was observed in overall elderly-friendliness scores between the two sectors (p=0.369).
conclusionLess than half of the hospitals in the study were elderly friendly, with major gaps in accessibility infrastructure, geriatric care services, and safety features such as grab rails in toilets. Strengthening hospital accessibility, improving geriatric training among healthcare personnel, and implementing standardized age-friendly policies are required to improve elderly healthcare services.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.