Covid-19 and India’s eldercare system: Time to address the loopholes
3 years, 4 months ago

Covid-19 and India’s eldercare system: Time to address the loopholes

Times of India  

HelpAge India recently brought out heart wrenching findings about India’s elderly in both the household and old age home settings in the context of Covid-19. India’s current healthcare system takes a very disease-centric view towards the elderly. Recently, the NITI Aayog launched a campaign called ‘Surakshit Dada-Dadi & Nana-Nani Abhiyan’ in association with Piramal Foundation to ensure the well-being of the elderly during Covid-19. This is then a call for building a more sustainable system which allows India’s elderly to get access to the care they deserve – pandemic or not.

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History of this topic

India’s Elderly Care Crisis: Healthcare Costs, Digital Divide, and Policy Gaps Affect 153M Senior Citizens
1 month ago

India’s Elderly Care Crisis: Healthcare Costs, Digital Divide, and Policy Gaps Affect 153M Senior Citizens

The Hindu  

Published : Nov 19, 2024 18:12 IST - 7 MINS READ “I still use checkbooks at the bank and don’t own credit cards, debit cards, or any net banking app,” says R. Sampathkumar, an octogenarian from Chennai. An Observer Research Foundation paper published in September 2024, titled “Caring for the Elderly: Need for a Sensitive Approach”, states that “40 per …

More for elder care beyond health cover
3 months ago

More for elder care beyond health cover

New Indian Express  

The world’s widest health cover recently got wider. It’s a much-needed step in the world’s most populous country that is ageing fast and where health cover among elders is abysmally low. Another valuable input should come from the scheme’s digital mission that aims to collate longitudinal health data of those insured. The 2011 policy suggested building a community care network, …

Make prevention the focus of health policy
3 months, 1 week ago

Make prevention the focus of health policy

Hindustan Times  

The government’s move to expand the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana to cover those above 70 years of age recognises a key need of the health care architecture in India — ensuring access to health care for the elderly by making it affordable for them to That said, there will be pressures on the fiscal side. As the …

Is India equipped to deal with the rise in its elderly population? | In Focus podcast
6 months ago

Is India equipped to deal with the rise in its elderly population? | In Focus podcast

The Hindu  

Last week, on June 15, the world marked Elder Abuse Awareness Day. A report that was released by the NGO HelpAge India reveals that a large majority of them are not doing very well – their study conducted across 20 cities in 10 States surveying over 5,000 elderly citizens found that nearly 65% reported that they were not financially secure. …

Elders are ailing, alone and without the means to support themselves, finds Helpage India study
6 months ago

Elders are ailing, alone and without the means to support themselves, finds Helpage India study

The Hindu  

A study by HelpAge India of a cross-section of elders across the country found that only 15% of them had a source of income. As many as 1,333 caregivers, aged 18 to 49 years, providing general, social, and emotional care to these elderly respondents were also surveyed. “To ensure adequate representation of both genders and older age groups, the entire …

Do we simply not care about old people?
10 months, 1 week ago

Do we simply not care about old people?

Salon  

The covid-19 pandemic would be a wake-up call for America, advocates for the elderly predicted: incontrovertible proof that the nation wasn’t doing enough to care for vulnerable older adults. “I think the pandemic helped reinforce images of older people as sick, frail, and isolated — as people who aren’t like the rest of us,” he said. It’s really hard to …

India's ageing population: Why it matters more than ever
1 year ago

India's ageing population: Why it matters more than ever

Hindustan Times  

The world’s population is living longer and growing older. Notably, the Government of India has made positive strides with its forward looking and inclusive policies, programmes, and schemes such as the National Programme for Health Care of the Elderly, the National Social Assistance Programme, the Maintenance and Welfare of Senior Citizens Act, 2007 and the Bill, Atal Vayo Abhyuday Yojana’, …

Beyond the COVID-19 pandemic: Unanswered questions, lessons learnt and ongoing challenges
1 year, 2 months ago

Beyond the COVID-19 pandemic: Unanswered questions, lessons learnt and ongoing challenges

Firstpost  

The COVID-19 pandemic that impacted all aspects of human life, quite literally cancelled the planet. Was any internal advice given to the Government of India that the mRNA vaccines developed by Pfizer and Moderna were better, despite the fact that they were significantly more expensive and difficult to administer? Covishield, developed by Oxford-AstraZeneca in the UK, is similar to previous …

Caring for the old: The Hindu Editorial on the United Nations Population Fund’s India Ageing Report 2023
1 year, 2 months ago

Caring for the old: The Hindu Editorial on the United Nations Population Fund’s India Ageing Report 2023

The Hindu  

A good part of the world’s population is growing older, and India mirrors this trend as well. The reality, according to the United Nations Population Fund’s India Ageing Report 2023, is that the population above 60 years will double from 10.5% or 14.9 crore to 20.8% or 34.7 crore by 2050. With life expectancy increasing, thanks to better ways to …

Ready, or not: The Hindu Editorial on rising numbers of COVID-19 cases and India’s state of preparedness
1 year, 8 months ago

Ready, or not: The Hindu Editorial on rising numbers of COVID-19 cases and India’s state of preparedness

The Hindu  

The better part of management is preparedness. On April 12, a total of 7,830 new cases were reported in a 24-hour period, according to the Union Health Ministry’s data, possibly the highest in over 200 days. However, health systems can scarcely afford to be under prepared, especially considering the recent traumatic experience of a raging pandemic taking a huge toll. …

Aged care design need a rethink and these experts say working with older Australians will help
1 year, 9 months ago

Aged care design need a rethink and these experts say working with older Australians will help

ABC  

Aged care in Australia is at a crisis point. Some say the problems in Australia's aged care crisis could be addressed by considering the experience of older Australians. "This is not a good service model," Mike Rungie, the director of the Global Centre for Modern Ageing and a former aged care CEO, tells ABC RN's Big Ideas. This would prioritise …

Chandrakant Lahariya | In 2023, let’s try to make India a healthier nation
1 year, 11 months ago

Chandrakant Lahariya | In 2023, let’s try to make India a healthier nation

Deccan Chronicle  

The year 2022 is behind us and so is hopefully Covid-19, which arguably has become endemic in India. Clearly, the start of the year 2023 is the time we in India must move on from Covid-19 and use the learnings for further strengthening our health services. However, during the Covid-19 pandemic, much of health system attention was diverted to the …

Why we need to be talking about the mental health of the elderly
2 years, 1 month ago

Why we need to be talking about the mental health of the elderly

Live Mint  

Earlier this month, the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences, Bengaluru, started a collaborative venture with HelpAge India to provide psychiatric support to the elderly. As Dr Minakshi Manchanda, the associate director of psychiatry at Asian Hospital, points out: with the decline of the joint family system, senior citizens often end up leading isolated lives, putting them at …

Why India's senior living concept has become more contemporary and viable post-COVID-19
2 years, 4 months ago

Why India's senior living concept has become more contemporary and viable post-COVID-19

Firstpost  

India’s population of 1.3 billion is ageing faster than ever before. There is, therefore, a need for the growth of senior living as a separate asset class in India’s real estate market, comparable to co-working and co-living, which have been established as crucial asset classes in recent years. The southern cities of India are now in the lead, with 70 …

Over 57% seniors faced mental health issues during COVID-19, 59% say government managed pandemic well
2 years, 5 months ago

Over 57% seniors faced mental health issues during COVID-19, 59% say government managed pandemic well

Firstpost  

The fear of COVID-19 infection was the most prevalent factor that contributed to the rising mental health concerns among seniors New Delhi: COVID-19 pandemic continues to wreak havoc. A ‘State of Seniors survey’ by Antara covering over 2,100 elders aged 60 and above shows that a staggering 57 per cent of seniors faced mental health issues during COVID-19. COVID-19: Senior …

Aged people need special care amid pandemic
2 years, 7 months ago

Aged people need special care amid pandemic

China Daily  

Medical workers help an elder use QR code for nucleic acid test at a community in Shanghai, April 9, 2022. In China, however, the impact of the pandemic has been disproportionately severe on the elderly people due to the rising aging population in the country. China has about 264 million people aged 60 or above and 191 million aged 65 …

Aged people need special care amid pandemic
2 years, 7 months ago

Aged people need special care amid pandemic

China Daily  

Medical workers help an elder use QR code for nucleic acid test at a community in Shanghai, April 9, 2022. In China, however, the impact of the pandemic has been disproportionately severe on the elderly people due to the rising aging population in the country. China has about 264 million people aged 60 or above and 191 million aged 65 …

Settling India’s COVID-19 mortality data
2 years, 7 months ago

Settling India’s COVID-19 mortality data

The Hindu  

Over the last year, the World Health Organization has been busy, in an unprecedented effort, to calculate the global death toll from COVID-19. There are gaps Several news reports have pointed at a significant gap in India’s COVID-19 story — significantly under-reported mortality figures. Because as in these figures, India would have had close to four times the COVID-19 deaths …

Covid Pandemic Should Be a Lesson for States to Retrofit Ailing Health Systems
2 years, 10 months ago

Covid Pandemic Should Be a Lesson for States to Retrofit Ailing Health Systems

News 18  

In December 2021, as much of India was approaching what is now the third wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, NITI Aayog released the latest edition of its Health Index. However, data from the index show a neglected state of affairs across critical aspects of health systems governance pre-Covid. The Governance and Information domain is covered by a total of four …

With Threat of Covid Third Wave Lurking, 5 Things India Must Do To Protect the Protectors
2 years, 11 months ago

With Threat of Covid Third Wave Lurking, 5 Things India Must Do To Protect the Protectors

News 18  

Under normal times, this week would have been the season of joy, festivity and celebrations for Christmas and the New Year. To protect our healthcare workers, doctors, nurses, paramedical personnel and frontline workers such as ambulance drivers, lab technicians, public healthcare and sanitation workers, we need to strictly follow a few measures. Reorientation and Training During the first Covid wave, …

Boosting India's surveillance potential for pandemic preparedness
3 years ago

Boosting India's surveillance potential for pandemic preparedness

Hindustan Times  

As the Covid-19 pandemic continues and more variants of Sars-CoV-2 emerge like the Omicron one, each may have the potential to further disrupt public health systems and slow progress to end the pandemic. India recognised the critical need for enhanced surveillance early in the pandemic but like most nations, took time in substantially scaling up of these efforts across the …

Pandemics, age, and ageing: What has changed and what will?
3 years, 2 months ago

Pandemics, age, and ageing: What has changed and what will?

Times of India  

India has over 100 million senior citizens, and the actual number might be as high has 200 million in the next census. There is thus a need to look at home monitoring for senior citizens as an integral aspect of caring for this growing population since there are two segments requiring: those with supportive care needs and those who need …

International Day of Older Persons 2021: How to Keep the Elderly Safe During Covid-19
3 years, 2 months ago

International Day of Older Persons 2021: How to Keep the Elderly Safe During Covid-19

News 18  

International Day of Older Persons, celebrated on October 1 each year, creates awareness about mental and physical health issues affecting the elderly and the abuses they face. On the occasion of this International Day for Older Persons, we discuss the impacts of Covid-19 on the elderly and how we can keep them safe during the pandemic. COVID-19 IMPACT ON THE …

Lessons for India from Kerala’s Covid experience
3 years, 3 months ago

Lessons for India from Kerala’s Covid experience

Hindustan Times  

Many held Kerala up as a national and global example on how to manage Covid-19 during the first wave of the pandemic. Based on statistical and scientific evidence on hand, it can be safely surmised that Kerala’s crisis is caused by a mutant strain of the original virus, and an extremely poor containment and home quarantine policy. As evident from …

Vulnerable groups caught between two worlds amid lockdowns
3 years, 4 months ago

Vulnerable groups caught between two worlds amid lockdowns

The Hindu  

The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed the catastrophic consequences of the public health system remaining largely underfunded in India. A nationwide study on three vulnerable groups during the pandemic published recently said: “Public health measures are rarely apolitical, and, as the situation in India shows, can be experienced as forms of exclusion and repression for vulnerable groups of people.” The study, …

State of working India 2021: The pandemic’s impact on the economy in India
3 years, 5 months ago

State of working India 2021: The pandemic’s impact on the economy in India

Hindustan Times  

This report documents the impact of one year of Covid-19 in India, on jobs, incomes, inequality, and poverty. On top of this, there were legacy problems such as a slow rate of job creation and lack of political commitment to improving working conditions which trapped a large section of the workforce without access to any employment security or social protection. …

Has the pandemic prompted the elderly to shift to retirement communities?
3 years, 5 months ago

Has the pandemic prompted the elderly to shift to retirement communities?

Live Mint  

When his wife passed away in April 2019, S.S. Subramanian, now 76, decided to move into a retirement community. Dependency anxiety, the desire for reassurance and the need for post-infection covid care have “triggered them to think that it is not easy to live alone,” says Dr Karthik Narayan, a medical doctor and the MD of Athulya Assisted Living in …

The unseen cost of covid’s long shadow on India
3 years, 6 months ago

The unseen cost of covid’s long shadow on India

Live Mint  

NEW DELHI : The second wave of the pandemic might have ebbed, but Ritu Garg, a Gurugram-based doctor, has had no respite. “People are now coming in with diseases like cancer at an advanced stage, uncontrolled diabetes, heart ailments, and more," said Garg, zonal director at Fortis Memorial Research Institute. A World Health Organization survey released in May 2020 projected …

For those with dementia, Covid’s impact has been brutal
3 years, 6 months ago

For those with dementia, Covid’s impact has been brutal

Hindustan Times  

As evening approaches, the 90-year-old lady, living with her son and daughter-in-law, in a Gurugram flat, is restless. Says Dasgupta, “We have switched to online sessions but there’s concern about being judged by the family and they tend to withdraw.’’ India has 5.3 million dementia patients. “We were able to keep our facilities safe till September last year, but once …

IIT Madras Research calls for Greater Government Investment in healthcare to protect elderly during Covid-19 Pandemic
3 years, 6 months ago

IIT Madras Research calls for Greater Government Investment in healthcare to protect elderly during Covid-19 Pandemic

India Today  

An Indian Institute of Technology Madras Research has called for greater Government investment in public healthcare to mitigate the impact of Covid-19 on the elderly. The current pandemic poses a greater risk of social isolation among the elderly, which may lead to greater adverse health impact. Muraleedharan, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, IIT Madras, said, “Our research highlights ways …

India's COVID vaccine policy leading to avertable deaths: Experts
3 years, 6 months ago

India's COVID vaccine policy leading to avertable deaths: Experts

India TV News  

The Indian government's Covid-19 vaccination approach has inappropriately prioritised people and is thus causing huge numbers of avertable deaths, warn a team of nine experts from research institutes in the UK and India. The government's current approach to vaccination- focusing on younger age groups- "is causing huge numbers of avertable deaths and is deeply inequitable, both between age groups and …

Rural India Accounted for 53% Covid-19 in May, Facing Excess Mortality, Reveals Report
3 years, 6 months ago

Rural India Accounted for 53% Covid-19 in May, Facing Excess Mortality, Reveals Report

News 18  

A new statistical report by the Delhi-based research organization, Centre for Science and Environment has revealed that in the month of May six districts in rural India accounted for over 52 percent of deaths due to Covid-19 and 53 percent of all new cases. As a result of the worsening of the situation in rural India amid the second wave, …

India's rural districts accounted for every second Covid death, 53% new cases in May: Report
3 years, 6 months ago

India's rural districts accounted for every second Covid death, 53% new cases in May: Report

India Today  

The pandemic has exposed the healthcare system in rural India, where the crisis of Covid-19 is largely a silent one. In May, six districts in rural India accounted for over 52 per cent of deaths due to Covid-19 and 53 per cent of all new cases of infection. Dismal condition of primary healthcare The report -- State of India's Environment …

India's Covid-19 crisis: Why I'm grateful I lost my parents before the current surge
3 years, 6 months ago

India's Covid-19 crisis: Why I'm grateful I lost my parents before the current surge

CNN  

Pallabi Munsi is a CNN reporter based in New Delhi, India. It is the third country in the world -- after Brazil and the United States -- to cross 300,000 official deaths and we've set new grim records for the highest single-day figure for infections globally The health inequities that have led to India's Covid crisis developed over time. And …

Elderly women need better care and support
3 years, 6 months ago

Elderly women need better care and support

Hindustan Times  

The pandemic has exposed, among other things, how the voices of women are rarely heard in the formulation and execution of policies that have a direct bearing on them. Though there was a realisation, well before the advent of the virus, that we have to plan for a geriatric population, this is not fully understood by either doctors or caregivers, …

Opinion | Why India needs to improve its rickety health infrastructure
3 years, 6 months ago

Opinion | Why India needs to improve its rickety health infrastructure

India TV News  

With the second wave of pandemic showing a marked decline, the number of daily fresh Covid cases across India fell to 2,08,921 on Tuesday, while 4,157 deaths were reported. Image Source : PTI Why India needs to improve its rickety health infrastructure Image Source : PTI Representative image of a COVID hospital in Bhagalpur, Bihar I think Soren made this …

When COVID-19 goes to the villages: challenges of managing the pandemic in rural areas | The Hindu In Focus Podcast
3 years, 6 months ago

When COVID-19 goes to the villages: challenges of managing the pandemic in rural areas | The Hindu In Focus Podcast

The Hindu  

The COVID-19 pandemic has now entered rural parts of our country, where 65% of our population lives. Data from May shows that the case load is now 65% in rural and semi-rural areas versus 35% in urban and semi-urban areas. Even as hospitals in our cities are towns are overloaded and overwhelmed, our rural infrastructure is in danger of collapsing …

India's second COVID-19 wave has made healthcare, ableist even pre-pandemic, harder for disabled people to access – Firstpost
3 years, 7 months ago

India's second COVID-19 wave has made healthcare, ableist even pre-pandemic, harder for disabled people to access – Firstpost

Firstpost  

As a system, even before the pandemic, disabled people have shared how ableism features in their interactions with the healthcare system. Among the fears of not being provided adequate care because of their disabilities or comorbidities, many disabled people share their experiences of COVID-19: Volunteers like Vishnu Soman, founder of volunteer-driven initiative Smileys India, have been part of the COVID …

Covid-19: Plugging Rural India’s Healthcare Gaps Calls For A Multi-Pronged Strategy
3 years, 7 months ago

Covid-19: Plugging Rural India’s Healthcare Gaps Calls For A Multi-Pronged Strategy

News 18  

With the curve flattening in cities such as Delhi and Mumbai, it is giving a false comfort of Covid-19 fading away. As part of CIPP work in managing and helping the Covid relief process in rural areas, I have spoken to numerous District Commissioners and front line staff across multiple districts and states. Investments by governments in primary health centres, …

Covid-19: Pay attention to rural India
3 years, 7 months ago

Covid-19: Pay attention to rural India

Hindustan Times  

When Covid-19 first hit India, the biggest fear among both policymakers and public experts was that the pandemic would travel to India’s Hindi heartland — primarily across the rural belt of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. Given the size of the two states, the density of population, the abysmal health care infrastructure, and the manner in which the virus could quickly …

‘You cannot do anything’: Indian American doctors struggle with COVID-19 crisis back home
3 years, 7 months ago

‘You cannot do anything’: Indian American doctors struggle with COVID-19 crisis back home

LA Times  

Dr. Sunita Puri, who is trying to rally funds to send supplies to India for the COVID-19 crisis, is photographed at Keck Hospital of USC in Los Angeles on Friday, May 7, 2021. The American healthcare system relies disproportionately on Indian doctors, with 1 out of 10 physicians in the U.S. identifying as Indian — the majority of whom were …

Covid spreads in villages: How best can India fight this challenge?
3 years, 7 months ago

Covid spreads in villages: How best can India fight this challenge?

India Today  

As rural India begins to reel under Covid infections, India Today TV Consulting Editor Rajdeep Sardesai speaks to top experts to understand how best to fight this challenge. DR. VED PRAKASH, HOD, PULMONARY CRITICAL CARE MEDICINE, KING GEORGE’S MEDICAL UNIVERSITY, LUCKNOW: The real crisis is the lack of healthcare infrastructure in rural India. POONAM MUTTREJA, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, POPULATION FOUNDATION OF …

India COVID crisis: ‘We tried 15 hospitals before my mother died’
3 years, 7 months ago

India COVID crisis: ‘We tried 15 hospitals before my mother died’

Al Jazeera  

Despite having the money to pay for treatment, one family struggled to find a hospital bed for their 61-year-old mother who lost her life to the virus. “We knocked on the doors of at least 15 hospitals, tapped all our networks and contacts to organise treatment for my mother,” says Oberoi’s daughter, Vandana Paliwal, 38, a schoolteacher in West Delhi. …

Shadow of Long Covid: Why India needs to prepare for long-term effects of coronavirus
3 years, 7 months ago

Shadow of Long Covid: Why India needs to prepare for long-term effects of coronavirus

India Today  

While the immediate impact of the second Covid-19 wave on the health system is clearly visible in terms of shortage of oxygen, ICU beds, over-stretched testing and treatment services, new studies suggest that another public health sector crisis associated with the long-term effects of the virus could be looming over our heads. A recent peer reviewed study published in Nature …

Rush to hospitals, big gatherings worsen India COVID crisis: WHO
3 years, 7 months ago

Rush to hospitals, big gatherings worsen India COVID crisis: WHO

Live Mint  

Geneva: People in India are rushing unnecessarily to hospital, exacerbating a crisis over surging COVID-19 infections caused by mass gatherings, more contagious variants and low vaccination rates, the World Health Organization said on Tuesday. The WHO is providing critical equipment and supplies to India, including 4,000 oxygen concentrators, which only require an energy source, WHO spokesman Tarik Jasarevic said. "Currently, …

As covid-19 rages on, the elderly in India battle loneliness
3 years, 8 months ago

As covid-19 rages on, the elderly in India battle loneliness

Live Mint  

For 72-year-old Rehana Sarin her two-bedroom flat in a Noida high-rise has been her "world" since her husband passed away 15 years ago, but she has never felt more lonely and secluded before as in the months following the covid-19 outbreak. The situation for elderly couples is no different from those staying alone, and Rajesh Singh, 66, who has been …

Opinion | Pandemic in India can be controlled only if people strictly observe Covid protocol
3 years, 8 months ago

Opinion | Pandemic in India can be controlled only if people strictly observe Covid protocol

India TV News  

The number of daily fresh cases in India on Monday stood at 1,61,736, while 879 deaths were reported from across the country. Gujarat reported 6,021 new cases and 55 deaths, West Bengal 4,511 new cases, Madhya Pradesh 6,489, Tamil Nadu 6,711, Rajasthan 5,771, and Andhra Pradesh 3,263. Among the cities, Mumbai reported 6,905 new cases and 43 deaths on Monday, …

World Health Day 2021: What public health lessons can India learn from COVID-19 pandemic?
3 years, 8 months ago

World Health Day 2021: What public health lessons can India learn from COVID-19 pandemic?

Firstpost  

COVID-19 has renewed the focus on public health threats – making countries review their public health systems and healthcare infrastructure. World Health Day is celebrated on 7 April and it is the perfect occasion to review India’s response to COVID-19 and identify threats to our health security that can be rectified on a warfooting. Similarly, India needs to pass a …

Two Lawyers Move Bombay High Court Seeking Policy For Door To Door Covid Vaccination For Senior Citizens, Specially Abled and Medically Challenged Citizens
3 years, 8 months ago

Two Lawyers Move Bombay High Court Seeking Policy For Door To Door Covid Vaccination For Senior Citizens, Specially Abled and Medically Challenged Citizens

Live Law  

A plea has been filed before the Bombay High Court seeking directions to Central Government to set up a policy on urgent basis to provide Covid Vaccine to advanced age Senior Citizens, Specially Abled and Medically Challenged citizens etc by offering door to door vaccination services at the earliest.Two lawyers from Maharashtra Dhruti Kapadia and Kunal Tiwari have sought direction …

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