Living of Elderly in Old Age Homes

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Living of Elderly in Old Age Homes
Dr. Radhika Kapur
Abstract
There have been an increase within the existence of the aged people in India
in the past and the country is regarded of having the second largest aged population
in the world. Family is considered to be the main support and the security for the
elderly individuals. In urban and rural areas, people who are educated, wealthy and
possess strong beliefs, values and norms regard elderly individuals and pay them
great deal of respect, their needs are adequately taken care of and they are
consulted when any important decisions are to be made, hence the elderly
individuals also take pleasure and satisfaction in living with their children and
grandchildren. On the other hand, underprivileged, poverty stricken and deprived
individuals and families who do not possess the resources, finances and other
means to take care of the elderly consider them as a burden and send them to old
age homes where their needs can be adequately taken care of. Old age homes are
the places that are established by some of the social organizations where elderly
people take refuge. In old age homes, there have been provision of all the basic
facilities and amenities; the elderly individuals who are ill or need special care,
even their needs are adequately taken care of. The main problems that the elderly
individuals face in old age homes are in personal and social adjustment; the other
problems that are experienced by the elderly individuals are despondency,
loneliness, economic insecurity and in acquainting themselves. When an elderly
individual gets admitted into an old age home, he feels apprehensive, the
environment appears to be alien to him, the people around are unfamiliar,
therefore, during the initial stage, it becomes difficult for him to adjust but at the
later stages, the person has to develop his mindset in such a manner that he

familiarizes himself with everything around and makes his living joyful and
fulfilled.
Keywords: Living, Elderly, Aging, Old Age Homes, Problems, Depression
Introduction
The last century has observed a speedy increase in the population of the
elderly people within the developed and the
industrialized nations. This phenomenon is not restricted just to the western world,
but many countries such as India are in the present world feeling the influence of
this operation. This situation could be featured to an amalgamation of things such
as increase in age, long life and decreased death rates due to progress in the field of
medicine, science, technology, healthcare, enhancement of life expectancy at birth,
and development in the average span of life; India ranks 4th in terms of absolute
size of elderly population. The country is not effectively prepared to look after
their special health needs and the transformation within the traditional value
system. A sense is now developing among the aged persons that the approach of
the younger production towards them is not as longing. India, like many other
developing countries in the world is witnessing the fast aging of its population.
Urbanization, modernization and globalization have led to transformation in the
economic structure, the wearing down of societal norms, declining of social values,
and social institutions such as the joint family. In this varying economic and social
environment, the younger generation is insightful for new individualities including
economic liberty and redefined social roles within, as well as outside the family.
The transforming economic structure has declined the dependence of rural families
on land which has developed the authority and control to create links between
generations (Dubey, Bhasin, Gupta & Sharma, 2011).
Old age means decline in ones physical ability, mental ability, the regular
giving up of participation within the socio-economic activities, and a transfer in

profitable position moving from economic independence to economic dependence
upon other’s for sustenance. It is vital that the state, civil society and community
distinguishes the rights and requirements of the elderly women and make
appropriate polices, procedures, laws, rules, legislations and efficient
accomplishment of health and safety measures and schemes which are already
present. Precise state involvements are required for the aged women, they being
the most defenseless and for the elderly individuals who are below the poverty
line. There is a need to protect the human rights of the elderly and to formulate
proper laws and policies to ensure satisfactory economic and social security during
disability and old age, especially where the aged people lack the adequate family
support (Dubey, Bhasin, Gupta & Sharma, 2011).
Old Age Homes
There has been an increase in the demand for old age homes in India and in
all the countries of the world, as elderly individuals do experience problems in
living alone or with their children. There have been number of benefits of living in
old age homes such as in any kind of old age homes, elderly individuals are always
safe and live their lives in a peaceful manner. In various cities, towns and rural
areas, there is a demand for old age homes; the establishment of old age homes are
not in accordance with certain principles or standards but the main objective is to
make living of all the elderly people satisfied and pleasurable. However, minimum
services for adequate living are the food, sleeping, recreation, reading etc. that are
required in order to create a healthy atmosphere. A consulting doctor normally
makes a visit to the old age home on a weekly basis for regular check up and
specific consultation. The life expectancy in India was 45.6 years in 1971 which
had increased to 58.2 years in 1991; in Tamil Nadu it was 65 years in 2001. The
demand for old age home originated with an increase in the elderly population
within the society. The number of people above the age of 60 was 6.2 crores in

1996 which had increased to 7.06 crores in 2001. Due to various reasons, the
elderly people are not able to live autonomously without any support. In most
cases, the children may be employed elsewhere and they face problems in
supporting their parents in a direct manner, in such cases, elderly people develop
an enthusiasm to get admitted in old age homes (Old Age Home, n.d.).
Old age homes are established in different manners, in some of them, there
are 50 persons and 25 rooms, two persons usually live in one room; there is a
recreation hall, dining hall, kitchen, store, library, consulting doctor’s room, and so
forth. There has been availability of proper facilities such as furniture, chairs,
kitchen equipment, washing machines, health club equipment, television, VCR,
music system, library, and reading room. The individuals are required to purchase
all the materials of daily use such as soaps, detergents, medicines, chemicals,
vegetables, fruits, and groceries on a monthly basis from the regular suppliers who
make a visit (Old Age Home, n.d.). Therefore, it is understood that there are
provision of all the basic facilities to meet the requirements of the elderly
individuals through which their lives can be made more comfortable.
Living in Old Age Homes
In old age homes, in most cases, the elderly individuals enjoy and take
pleasure in their living. There have been certain reasons due to which they feel
lonely, upset and sometimes depressed but on the whole their living in old age
homes is very peaceful and contented. The elderly individuals follow a routine in
their daily lives such as doing morning exercises, having breakfast, reading,
playing indoor sports, listening to music, watching television, interacting with their
friends and other people around and so forth. There have been many factors that
lead to the institutionalization of the elderly individuals, these include the
availability of family support for the individuals, these include the accessibility of
caring family members for old people who are no longer able to sustain full

independence, income, housing, provision of health and welfare services and
predominance of mental and physical disability (Bhushanam, Sreedevi &
Kameshwaran, 2013).
Among the frequent environmental and the external factors that transform
ageing, nutrition plays a significant role. The indivisible triad of nutrition, ageing
and health is the rational basis for proper administration of predicaments that arise
and hinder with the interdependent factors. In India, the group of the elderly
population depends on their children for physical, moral and financial support.
However, due to the socio-cultural changes taking place in India and the joint
family system gradually withdrawing the materialization of institutional homes is
on the rise with steady increase in the number of individuals joining institutions.
The elderly taking shelter in old age homes are either enthusiastically or forced to
live in such circumstances for number of different reasons. With this the elderly
may recognize to live in an environment which is either unfamiliar to their own
and or they become accustomed to the changing environment and circumstances
imposed on them. The living of the elderly in old age homes centers on the
availability of physical facilities, sanitary conditions, communication, social
network, health conditions, nutritional status and nutritional knowledge
(Bhushanam, Sreedevi & Kameshwaran, 2013).
Causes of Living of the Elderly in Old Age Homes
There have been various causes that enable elderly individuals to move to
old age homes and these have been stated as follows:
1. Ageing is an expected developmental experience bringing about a number of
transformations in the physical, psychological, hormonal and social
conditions. These transformations are projected to influence eminence of life
of the elderly. As life expectancy continues to increase, one of the supreme
challenges of public health is to improve the quality of life within ones later

years of life. Quality of Life of the Elderly People (QOL) is a concept that
has been gaining relevance with the demographic shift within the aging
society. In India, the awareness has been less regarding the special needs of
the elderly and care givers are yet to understand the basics of elderly care,
which includes physical, mental, psychological and social support
(Chandrika, Radhakumari & DeviMadhavi, 2015).
2. When an elderly individual is not treated well by the family members, such
as when he or she experiences any kind of abuse such as physical or verbal
or financial, this makes an elderly individual feel vulnerable and
apprehensive, therefore, he makes a decision by himself or in consultation
with others that he will move out of the stressful situation that he is
experiencing and live a peaceful life in an old age home. Any kind of
mistreatment, abuse, exploitation, violent act or financial exploitation at
home enables an elderly individual to get admitted into an old age home.
3. Loneliness is considered to be very distressful amongst the elderly
individuals, especially those who have lost their spouse, their children move
out of the house due to reasons such as education, job, employment and so
forth. Elderly individuals do make up a social network in order to find relief
from the feelings of loneliness, but in some cases, they do not interact with
their social circle and feel lonesome; this is also one of the reasons that
enable them to move to old age homes so that they have people around with
whom they can interact with and share their joys and sorrows.
4. For an elderly individual, adequate implementation of the household chores,
preparation of meals, performance of other job duties such as purchasing of
groceries, carrying out miscellaneous expenses become difficult, hence in
order to relieve themselves of all the responsibilities within the house, they
make a decision to move to old age homes. When elderly individuals live

alone, then they normally transfer to old age homes. In old age, ones word
usage and vocabulary begins to decline, people do experience hearing and
visual problems, in other words, there is deterioration in ones health
conditions and having problems in taking care of the requirements alone,
they move to old age homes.
Difficulties and Problems Experienced by the Elderly Individuals
There has been an increase in the population of the aged people in India,
with the increase in the population, in urban
and in rural areas, there has been establishment of old age homes. There has been
implementation of rules, laws, and policies regarding the appropriate treatment and
care of the elderly individuals as there have been different kinds of mistreatments
and abuses that the elderly individuals experience and hence due to these reasons
they are forced to move out of their own homes and get admitted into old age
homes. Normally it happens that when the elderly individuals are suffering from
some kinds of health problems, visual or hearing impairments, their word usage
begins to decline and they are dependent upon the others, then when no one is
available to take care of them, they do not have any other option and transfer to old
age homes. In rural areas, socio-economically backward sections of the society,
poverty stricken and illiterate individuals; consider the elderly individuals to be a
burden and hence they are forcibly sent to old age homes.
In old age homes, there are in some cases occurrence of problems and
difficulties in spite of having provision of all the facilities. When individuals get
admitted into old age homes, the main problems that they experience are feelings
of loneliness due to the loss of joint family because of social transformation, they
do not have any family or friends around, they are not able to take adequate care of
themselves, develop a sense of incapacity to adjust with any kinds of health
problems and the loss of family members, relatives and friends. The development

of modern socio economic system makes old age a severe social problem.
Considered and determined activities which will beneficially connect older persons
in accordance to their capability must be organized. The aged individuals who are
suffering from illness need special services in their old age homes. Disregarding
the needs intentionally or unintentional failure to meet the requirements of the
older person and violating of the personal rights are the main difficult situations
that can be encountered within the old age homes. Feelings of loneliness, isolation,
social economic status of the elderly individuals, transformation in the social roles,
adjustment problems in old age and generational gap are some important factors
that may cause problems for the elderly individuals (Tripathi, 2014).
Depression amongst the Elderly Living in Old Age Homes
During ones old age, different types of problems are encountered by the
aged people and the implementation of welfare
measures that are associated with providing them a better quality of life. It has
been scrutinized that physical diseases, psychological illness and adjustment
problems are moderately common during this phase of life. People in general are
approachable and open-minded to the needs of the elderly people and communicate
with each other about the difficulties that they face during the twilight years of
their lives. In elderly, physical transformations include wrinkling of skin, stopped
posture, flabbiness of muscles, reduced vision and hearing, loss of appetite and a
decreased efficiency of the cardiovascular system. The theme of this age period is
experiencing losses, which may be identified like loss of physical abilities,
intellectual capacity, job performances and occupational identification (retirement),
and of close ties, such as death of spouse, friends and other acquaintances. In old
age homes, elderly individuals do make a social circle, they interact with friends
and people around but still feel lonely as they are not living with the family
members and in this way they develop the feelings of depression (Chalise, 2013).

Depression is a common problem amongst the elderly individuals
particularly the ones residing in old age homes and is a major public health
problem. Depression is stated to be an illness that also leads to physical, emotional,
social and economic problems. The rate of depression amongst the elderly varies,
there are some elderly individuals who enjoy themselves in extracurricular
activities such as sports and other games within the old age homes and feel
depressed only when they remember their children or other relatives; on the other
hand, there are elderly individuals who come to old age homes due to some reasons
such as mistreatment, exploitation or other problems, but they are overwhelmed by
the feelings of depression in old age homes as they deeply miss their homes, family
members and other close friends and relatives. In old age, depression leads to
negative effects and deterioration of ones health. When depression coexists with
other medical conditions, the resulting disability appears to be more serious; in
developing countries, the problem of depression has been common amongst the
elderly individuals due to lack of facilities, amenities, services, conveniences,
external environmental conditions and properly trained personnel (Chalise, 2013).
Discussion
Old age is stated to be the most difficult part of ones life, in this stage, it is
important for an individual to remain happy, satisfied and peaceful. If a person is
happy, he always feels young and develops enthusiasm and willingness towards
everything. He takes interest in watching television, listening to music, gets
himself engaged in recreational and extracurricular activities such as sports, games,
music and even in singing devotional songs, hymns and other kinds of songs. It is
the responsibility of the family members at home and in old age homes it is up to
the staff members involved to see that the elderly individuals are well taken care
of. Besides making provision of the physical care, the elderly individuals require
company to interact with, they should be made to feel that they are not a burden

rather they are always to be adored and respected. The elderly individuals do
possess good amount of knowledge about different ways to live life effectively,
hence they should be consulted when an individual needs any kind of advice and
guidance.
There have been several reasons that why individuals get admitted into old
age homes, they either move to old age homes in accordance to their own wishes
or they are forced to move by their family members. The main reasons have been
aging, difficulties in carrying out the household chores, mistreatment and
exploitation of the elderly individuals by their family members, and loneliness. In
old age homes, there is availability of proper facilities but elderly individuals do
face problems and difficulties; the main problems have been regarding adjustment
and familiarizing themselves with the environmental conditions and the people
around. Elderly individuals may make new friends around but in spite of having
good friends, they do not have their family members and feel secluded, due to this
elderly individuals develop the feeling of depression. The main problems have
been isolation, loneliness, socio-economic status, generational gap, adjustment
problems and transformations within the social roles.
India is witnessing a rapid increase in the population, and there has been an
increase in the number of elderly individuals. With the influence of urbanization,
globalization and modernization, there have been transformations within the socio-
economic structure; individuals are migrating to other cities and regions in search
for better employment opportunities, and there has been breakdown of the joint
family system into the nuclear family system. As an individual reaches old age,
there is an increase in health problems, illness and elderly individuals need
someone to look after them, when they do not find anybody to take care of them;
they normally make a decision of getting themselves admitted into old age homes.
Life satisfaction is regarded to be a significant socio-economic construct in the

case of aging; it is one of the commonly accepted subjected conditions of the
quality of life of the elderly and is one of the most thriving components of
successful aging. There are appropriate norms and rules formulated within the old
age homes; the elderly individuals are in need of attention, they require
understanding, care and consideration. It is the duty of the family members, care
givers and old age home staff members to make sure that they do not spend the
twilight years of their lives in isolation, misery and despondency. Elderly
individuals are important and play a vital role within the lives of the individuals,
whether they are parents, grandparents, relatives, or friends; they should be
respected, adored and one should always seek their blessings and good wishes.
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