Special Issue Sci.Int.(Lahore),28(2),2073-2078,2016 ISSN 1013-5316;CODEN: SINTE 8 2073 March-April SOCIAL EXCLUSION AND HEALTHY AGEING: AN ANTHROPO- PATHOLOGICAL STUDY ON OLDER PERSONS’ HEALTH Hina Saleem , Abid Ghafoor Chaudhry Department of Anthropology, PMAS-Arid Agriculture University, Rawalpindi Corresponding Author‟s Email: h.saleem74@hotmail.com ABSTRACT: Background: Ageing the last stage of human lifecycle is invariably inevitable. With modern technological and scientific developments the basic health facilities have improved, increasing the life span and promoting longevity. However, ‘life expectancy’ and ‘quality of life ‘have proved to be inversely proportional and negatively correlated. The participation and involvement of the senior citizens in different areas of social activities visibly narrows with ageing thus victimizing them to social exclusion which in turn affects their health negatively. Objective: The research explores the role of social exclusion in the health status of older persons. Material and Methods: To collect biostatistical data on older person and to unearth the effects of social exclusion on health a structured questionnaire was prepared. The questionnaire was vigorously pre tested before the data was collected on the set objective. Place and Duration of Study: The data was collected from the locale Rawalpindi city inclusive of various union councils, over a period of three months. Results: The study revealed that 62.4% of the respondents related social exclusion with ageing. Moreover, it was indicated that respondents who belonged to the age group of 66-70 comparatively felt more socially excluded than any other age group. Moreover the respondents who felt socially excluded suffered from various physical and psychological diseases including mental distress (88.37%), cardio- vascular diseases (83.60%), hypertension (71.05%), diabetes (65.21%), and asthma (45%) Conclusion: Social exclusion and deteriorating social role of older persons affects their general health. Older persons that are largely marginalized need to be identified as equal citizens of the community and policies at national level require to rectify the situation. Key Words: Ageing, Social Exclusion, Dimensions of Social Exclusion, Health issues, Anthropo-pathological view INTRODUCTION The world population is inescapably going to be older due to improved medical and health facilities resultant of new discoveries and development in the medical science. This has promoted the tendency of longevity among people. Chaudhry et al defined old age as “the final segment of the lifespan and for those who must have a number attached to this, it is further defined that old age begins around 60 years of age” [1]. Ageing is basically the last phase of human life which majority of the humans nowadays reach due to improved medical facilities. Lyons cited Cohen (2002) who was of the view that “the age of a person can be defined in many ways, encompassing biological, psychological and socio-cultural processes‟‟ [2,3]. The continuity theory addresses that the latter part of life is simply a continuation of the earlier part of life, a component of the entire life cycle [4-6]. Gerontology is the field which studies old age, related concepts and issues. The field has been structured to make people understand the concept of “Ageing and old age” and to spread awareness regarding the impact of contact of human aging biology, behavior, social structure among other factors” [7]. “Social Gerontology “is a wider discipline that approaches ageing from the perspective of social sciences to achieve a better understanding of ageing and old age [8]. Anthropology is all inclusive. “It is the only human science that explores humanity in a systematic way connecting the past with the present scenario of man, explaining the changeover various epochs of history [9]. Man‟s life cycle is assumed to include “conception, birth, adolescence, adulthood and Aging” [9]. In the light of cyclical theory and progressive refinement, the concept of ageing and its stages can be understood. World‟s history of gerontology shows that in 1950 the maximum number of elderly citizens, aged 60years or above, was 205 million. The number started shooting and reached up to 606 million in 2000 and is expected to rise further to two billion by the year 2050 [10, 11]. With the rise in the ageing population and lack of awareness regarding the psychological problems of the aged the need of national policies focusing older persons rises. There is a common perception, though largely unsubstantiated that decision making abilities decline with aging. Changing scenarios in life expectancy have inevitably affected the quality of life. Social exclusion is one of the primary challenges raised due to increased life expectancy. Exclusion is multilevel and structured segregation of the aged from various social, cultural and economic activities. Gorden et al defines social exclusion as lack of social interaction, communication and activities in routine life [12] while SEU linked this with unemployment, poor housing, bad health and breakdown in family relationships [13]. Scarf et al. cited the work of Madanipour et al. who offers another useful definition which highlights the spatial element of social exclusion. It is a “multi-dimensional process” inclusive of various forms of exclusions i.e. “decision making and political processes”, right “to employment and material resources” and assimilation into the “cultural processes” [14, 15]. All these forms when combined create an acute form of exclusion that has a spatial manifestation in particular neighborhoods”. Social exclusion is thus basically the processes in which older persons are excluded in the decisions of family, employment opportunities, cultural gatherings and activities and political activities.” It is a “dynamic process of being shut out, fully or partially, from any of the social, economic, political or cultural systems determining the social integration of a person in that particular society [16]. Barnes et al conceptualized social exclusion across seven domains. The domains include, “Financial products;