ADDING COMMUNITY TO THE EQUATION OF ELDERLY CARE

By 2050, the elderly population, for the first time, is expected to exceed the population aged 0-15. This underscores the importance of turning the healthcare spotlight on the elderly, with community participation in focus, say experts

- 

"In the year 2050, there is a demographic phenomenon poised to happen, something which has never happened before in recorded history," says Arvind Kasthuri, Head of the Geriatric Unit at St. John's Medical College, Bengaluru.

What Kasthuri is referring to is the time when the elderly population, for the first time, will exceed the population aged 0-15.

"This is what probably prompted WHO to declare 2021-30 as the decade of healthy ageing," he noted while speaking at a recent event titled "The Age of Care" at Bangalore International Centre.

According to estimates, India currently has about 15 crore senior citizens (people above 60 years). This, Kasthuri points out, is a number larger than the combined population of the UK and Australia.

Not only is it a large number, but it is also a growing number, which estimates suggest would more than double to 32 crores by 2050. The elderly would make up 20% of the Indian population. In other words, by 2050, one in every five Indians would be a senior citizen.

The changing social and familial structures combined with the increasing geriatric population underscore the importance of turning the healthcare spotlight on the elderly and shifting from a disease-centric approach to their holistic wellbeing.

Overlooking the 'person'

Seniors often struggle with not just physical ailments, but also social isolation, digital alienation, disorientation, mobility constraints, relationship struggles, and loneliness. In 2022, the WHO revealed that one in four older people experiences social isolation. This causes a serious impact on their health and longevity, with effects on mortality comparable to smoking and obesity.