The socioeconomic/housing scale developed for rural setup is?

Appeared in: RUHS, Jaipur, M.Sc Nursing Entrance Exam-2021

Explanation

The Pareek scale was specifically developed by Udai Pareek to measure the socioeconomic status of families in rural India.
It uses a multi-dimensional approach, considering nine factors relevant to a rural lifestyle that go beyond just income.
These factors include caste, occupation, education, land ownership, type of house, material possessions, farm power, family type, and social participation, providing a holistic view of a family's standing in a rural community.

Option B: The Kuppuswamy scale is designed for assessing socioeconomic status in urban populations, not rural ones.
Option C: The Shore scale is not a standard or widely recognized socioeconomic scale used in the Indian community health context.
Option D: Adson's scale refers to Adson's test, which is a clinical maneuver for diagnosing Thoracic Outlet Syndrome. It has no relation to socioeconomic assessment.

Clinical Relevance

Nursing practice connection: This is primarily an exam-oriented knowledge point with limited direct bedside application, so retain Socioeconomic Scales in Community Health as background academic context rather than a clinical decision trigger.
Community health nurses use socioeconomic scales to understand the social determinants of health that affect a family or community, such as poverty, education level, and living conditions.
This assessment is crucial for identifying at-risk populations, planning targeted health education, and linking eligible families to government health and welfare schemes (e.g., Ayushman Bharat).
What if the question asked for a scale based primarily on per capita income that is regularly updated? In that case, the B.G. Prasad scale would be the most appropriate answer, as it is adjusted based on the Consumer Price Index.

How to Approach the Question

First, identify the core concepts in the question stem: 'socioeconomic scale' and 'rural setup'.
The question asks for a specific tool used in a particular setting. This is a factual recall question.
Recall the different socioeconomic scales used in community health nursing in India.
Differentiate the scales based on their intended population. The Pareek scale is specifically associated with rural populations.
Contrast this with the Kuppuswamy scale, which is the most common scale for urban populations.
Eliminate options that are clearly incorrect or irrelevant, such as Adson's scale, which is a clinical test, not a sociological tool.

Concept Tested & Keywords

QCTkwEBR1NdlS6yin3UlnW

E6 Parks TextBook of Preventive & Social Medicine part 2 — Subpart A (pp 1-232 of 464) pp. 226-228, 227-229

Practise the full RUHS, Jaipur, M.Sc Nursing Entrance Exam-2021

Attempt every question from this paper in a timed mock, then review the full solution for each one.