Exploring the Effects of Gender Differences and Widowhood Status on the Days Spent in Poor Health: A Secondary Data Analysis from India

The majority of research in India has focused on the impact of widowhood on health status and health care use, while little emphasis has been paid to the number of days spent in poor health among widowed population compare to other marital categories. Thus, the current study explores the relationship between widowhood and days spent with poor health outcomes among adults in India. Additionally, gender differences in the relationship between widowhood and days with poor health outcomes are further studied. The research employed nationally representative cross-sectional data from the 75th round (2017–2018) of the National Sample Survey (NSS). To investigate the associations of marital status (married vs widowed) and other factors with days spent in poor health, a negative binomial regression model was used. Additionally, the interaction model of age and widowhood was estimated separately for men and women. The findings suggest that widowed individuals had consistently prolonged days with an illness, limited activity, and confinement to bed. After adjusting for socioeconomic and demographic characteristics, the findings suggested that widowed women (IRR = 1.141, 95% Confidence interval = 1.01–1.29) were more likely to spend days with limited acitivities than married women. The marital status-age interaction indicated that older widowed women were more likely to have days of restricted activity and confinement to bed than married women, but such link is absent for men. In India, the elderly widow often spends her days confined to bed and prolonged days with limited activity. Policymakers and practitioners in public health should develop effective policies and programmes to enhance the health and well-being of widowed women, particularly those from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds.