كبار السن في المملكة العربية السعودية : الخصائص الديموغرافية و الاجتماعية و الصحية

الملخص EN

This study aims to understand the elderly - their demographic, social and health characteristics, in addition to chronic diseases they suffer from, and the type of volunteer work they practice.

The study used set of international and local statistics, especially The 2017 Elderly Survey in the Kingdom , which was conducted by the General Authority for Statistics, with a sample of (33,575) families.

The study found that the percentage of elderly people in Saudi society is witnessing a gradual rise as a result of low fertility rates and improvement of medical and health care.

The Saudi elderly had a high rate of illiteracy, especially among women, and most of the elderly are married, especially men, while most of women are widows.

Also, sex ratio is high, meaning more males than females.

The study also revealed that the elderly suffer from some diseases with some differences between males and females.

Males suffer from diabetes and high blood pressure compared to females who suffer from joint and bone diseases.

The participation of elderly males in voluntary work is higher compared to females.

The study recommends establishing health centers, and raising awareness of diseases most prevalent among the elderly.

Key words: the elderly, demographic characteristics, social, health, chronic diseases, voluntary work.