Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) practices may affect the growth and nutritional status among adolescents. Therefore, this paper assesses WASH practices and its association with nutritional status among adolescent girls. As a part of an intervention programme, this study is based on baseline cross-sectional data. It was conducted between May 2016–April 2017 in three Indian states (Bihar, Odisha, and Chhattisgarh). From a sample of 6352 adolescent girls, information on WASH practices, accessibility to health services and anthropometric measurements (height, weight and mid upper arm circumference (MUAC)) was collected. Descriptive statistics were used to examine WASH practices, and nutritional status among adolescent girls. Determinants of open defecation and menstrual hygiene were assessed using logistic regression. Association between WASH and nutritional status of adolescent girls was determined using linear regression. Findings showed 82% of the adolescent girls were practicing open defecation and 76% were not using sanitary napkins. Significant predictors of open defecation and non use of sanitary napkin during menstruation were non Hindu households, households with poorer wealth, non availability of water within household premise, non visit to Anganwadi Centre, and non attendance in Kishori group meetings. One-third of adolescent girls were stunted, 17% were thin and 20% had MUAC < 19 cm. Poor WASH practices like water facility outside the household premise, unimproved sanitation facility, non use of soap after defecation had significant association with poor nutritional status of adolescent girls. Concerted convergent actions focusing on the provision of clean water within the household premise, measures to stop open defecation, promotion of hand washing, accessibility of sanitary napkins, poverty alleviation and behavior change are needed. Health, nutrition and livelihood programmes must be interspersed, and adolescents must be encouraged to take part in these programmes.

Social participation is considered one of the central components of successful and healthy aging. This study aimed to examine the moderating role of marital status and living arrangement with social participation and its association with life satisfaction of older Indian adults. Samples of 31,464 individuals aged ≥ 60 years were extracted from the Longitudinal Ageing Study in India, wave-1. Descriptive statistics, bivariate analysis, and multivariable linear regression were performed for the analysis. The moderation effect of marital status and living arrangements on the relationship between social participation and level of life satisfaction among Indian older adults were also analyzed. Overall, life satisfaction among older men was relatively higher than older women in this study. Older adults’ involvement in social participation [β = 0.39, p < 0.05], being in marital union [β = 0.68, p < 0.001] and co-residing either with spouse [β = 1.73, p < 0.001] or with other family members [β = 2.18, p < 0.001] were positively related to their greater life satisfaction. Interaction of social participation with marital status showed that participating in social activities can boost life satisfaction only among married older people. Further, moderation effect of social participation with living arrangements showed that older adults who were not involved in social participation but living with a spouse or any other household members had higher life satisfaction, and again participation in social activities increased their life satisfaction to a greater level. The establishment of social clubs and advocating social policies oriented toward meaningful social connections are highly needed, especially for older Indians living alone or currently not in a marital union, which will help to enhance their overall life satisfaction.

The present study investigates whether the differentials in private and public inpatient healthcare utilization are associated with marital status for men and women aged 60 years and above in India. Binary logistic regression was applied to examine the association of private and public inpatient healthcare utilization with the marital status of the elderly. The study found that widowed men and women generally used public healthcare for hospitalization, while married men and women preferred private healthcare. Our findings also indicated that private inpatient health services expenditure was higher for married elderly than widowed elderly. After controlling all covariates, widowhood was significantly associated with higher use of public healthcare services for women but not for men. India’s current health care policy and program may be required to focus on improving the infrastructure quality of current public healthcare systems. It also needs to be favorable for vulnerable sections of society, especially widowed women, to avail better treatment at an affordable cost.

Intergenerational resource transfers are fabric of families. This study examined proportion of older adults' direct and indirect financial contributions through various resource transfers in the household. Using bivariate analysis total 25,201 households containing at least one older adult (60+ age) from Longitudinal Ageing Study in India wave-1 were analyzed. The highest contribution was made through work engagement (22%), followed by agriculture work (20.4%), loan-repayment (15.2%) and pension-income (12%). Contribution via business engagement was merely 2.5%. Contribution of older person via loan repayment was only 7% in urban residents, but it is more than double (19%) among rural residents. In terms of indirect financial transfer, the highest contribution was made through sharing the current residential house (62%), followed by cultivable land (34.5%), housing and commercial units (7.7%), and non-cultivable land (5.2%). Even in old-age, Indian seniors have potential to support families by sharing resources, reflecting strong intergenerational bonds and functional solidarity.

This study analyzes the impact of disasters on the health of older adults in India, using data from LASI Wave-1 (2017-18) with 2,487 participants. Descriptive and multivariate analyses examined the link between health outcomes and disasters in older adults. The research reveals that drought, floods, and earthquakes are prevalent disaster, while traffic accidents and building collapses are significant man-made disasters. Older adults exposed to disasters caused by natural hazards experienced higher rates of psychological trauma, chronic illness, and physical disabilities. Man-made disasters were associated with increased risk of physical disability and chronic illness. Disasters were strongly linked to psychological trauma. This study emphasizes the importance of disaster preparedness and response strategies tailored to the needs of older adults. It calls for policies to improve healthcare access, social support, and disaster resilience, particularly in rural areas. Conducted through personal interviews, this research offers valuable insights for shaping policy and disaster management.