The effect of loneliness on health is akin to smoking 15 cigarettes a day. A state-level conference titled United for Elderly: Promoting Well-being, Dignity and Rights in Ageing against Loneliness and Isolation highlighted several such observations on what the elderly in our country face.
Organised by the department of psychiatric social work, Institute of Psychiatry (IoP), in collaboration with the senior citizen division of the National Institute of Social Defence, the meet at the Indian Museum last week brought together mental health professionals, social workers and government officials to deliberate on an age group that is projected to rise from 10.5 per cent in 2022 to 20.8 per cent by 2050, according to the UNFPA India Ageing Report 2023.
“We will also have the largest youth population in the world. Between the two extremes, there will be a generational and cultural gap as also a digital divide. The nation cannot progress unless we bridge this gap,” said Priyanjali Chakraborty, head, Bengal and Northeast, HelpAge India.
The NGO has released a report on ‘Inter-generational dynamics and perspective on ageing’, based on a survey of the youth and elderly across 10 cities.
“A majority of elders, 54 per cent, report negative feelings about ageing, citing neglect, dependence and weakness, with loneliness being the most common emotion (in 47 per cent). A large section complained about being left out of the planning process. ‘We are informed, never asked’, a respondent said. But ageing is not a disease, it is a developmental phase,” Chakraborty pointed out.
After Covid, her colleague Dibyendu Ghosh, state joint director, programmes, added, mental health has emerged as a big concern among the elderly.
“HelpAge India has started providing counselling in old age homes across the country. In Bengal, we have tied up with the Institute of Psychiatry, which will hold screenings for dementia, depression and other issues at 14 old age homes,” said Ghosh.
Archana Kaushik, professor and director of field work, School of Social Work, University of Delhi, pointed to a root problem — India will age before India becomes rich. “We are still a developing country. In Japan, nearly 30 per cent are over 65. But they were prepared to age; we are not. The World Health Organisation advocates active ageing as a necessity. A nation cannot progress if a large segment is seen as a spent force,” she said.
Kaushik cited innovative practices across the world. Introducing robots in elderly care in Japan has resulted in a 15 per cent reduction in fall.
She also spoke of dementia villages offering assisted living and the concept of time bank.
“In Switzerland, Time Bank is a system where individuals can volunteer to care for the elderly and ‘deposit’ their time into a social security account, which can be withdrawn when they need care in their old age. You can ‘Rent a Grandma’ in several countries for your child. In China, many national universities have the elderly attending classes,” she said.
Elderly self-help groups were being formed across India, she added.
Kaushik urged the elderly to spend more. “In India, people tend to leave 70 per cent of their savings behind, spending only 30 per cent on themselves. Why not do the reverse?”
The conference was inaugurated by the director of health services Swapan Saren and Amit Bhattacharya,
director, IoP. Saren lamented the excessive privacy given to children, giving them a room but denying them company. “We grew up in our grandmothers’ laps, which they lack,” he said.
Bhattacharya urged the care-giving generation to be more empathetic. “If we speak to our parents for half an hour daily, it might arrest dementia or keep depression at bay.”
Sharmistha Ghosh, joint director, social welfare, department of women and child development and social work, provided information on the government support available to the elderly. “We have 30 old age homes across 17 districts. Legal help is provided to address grievances under the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007 through a tribunal, she said. “Often, they seek not financial help but the company of grandchildren.”
Mayank Kumar, project head and assistant professor, department of psychiatric social work, IoP, pointed out that this was the fifth workshop that they had organised with senior citizens in focus since April.