Agewell Foundation Report on Condition of Elderly People in Delhi-NCR Released

Agewell Foundation released its report on the status of older persons in and around Delhi in the month of November 2012. The report in its finding based on the interviews conducted with 15000 senior citizens reached to a conclusion that, isolation of the elderly people has emerged as a red flag, in this changing world with fast changing demographic as well as socio-economic status along with the change in traditional values of the modern man.

As per the report and its finding in form of conclusion, more than 80 percent of the olds in Delhi experience loneliness in their present lives and carried a feeling of isolation. This isolation and loneliness is a cause of zero interaction with family as well as the other members of the society. Agewell Foundation, while conducting this study dealt with variety of issues connected with the old age people to identify their status and condition in a around the Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR).

The total population of old aged people (people above 60 years) in Delhi-NCR region is more than 12 lakhs, which is about 8 percent of its total population of more than 2 crore people and they faced different kind of critical situations in their life.

Identified problems of the old-aged people

•    Feel of marginalization
•    Little or no access to medicines and healthcare
•    No work opportunities
•    Concerns related to safety and security of their property and life
•    Financial problems
•    Restricted mobility
•    Psychological problems that occurred due to loneliness

The study also cited the bitter truth of emotional and social isolation of people in different areas of Delhi-NCR region. A total of 36 percent old persons in the villages of Delhi, were reported to be isolated emotionally as well as socially, whereas in the rural areas a total of 20.8 percent of these people were found to be socially isolated and 19 percent accounted to emotional isolation. A total of 44 percent old persons in the urban areas of Delhi-NCR were isolated on both social and emotional ends. Emotional isolation, which accounted to be 26 percent as a whole was, identified the greater phenomenon of isolation than that of the social isolation that accounts to 25 percent.

Impacts of the Isolation

•    Adverse health effects: 43 percent of the surveyed people claimed to be depressed
•    Less or zero interaction of people lead them to the stage of poor health conditions: 36 percent of the surveyed people claimed deterioration of the health conditions, ever since they left their homes
•    Feel of insecurity in their lives: isolation created a feel of insecurity to the lives of around 16.2 percent of the total population interviewed

The old-aged people on being questioned about the social needs, the identified demands were love, respect and appreciation, compassion, more family support and opportunities of interaction and better status in family and society. Lack of love and compassion was mentioned by 32.3 percent of the old-aged people they also demanded for medicines for elongated old age life, following the changing medical needs, whereas 27.5 percent people demanded appreciation and respect as their desire. A total of 56.4 percent of these people demanded safety and security as the issues of major concern for them and this included their trouble against the legal system.

The study also targeted small and nuclear families to be a major factor responsible for the violation of human rights against the rights of old-aged people as the findings illustrated a total of 78.1 percent population in Delhi-NCR leaving under the inhuman circumstances, were either isolated and living alone or were member of the nuclear or small families.

The study also revealed a fact that the old-aged men faced major troubles in cases of inhuman circumstances, as compared to the old-aged women and about 69 percent of these people were forced to live in miserable conditions. Of the total population on whom the study was carried-on, about 11.5 percent of the people were deprived from healthy and proper food, 18 percent of them lacked proper medicare in terms of medicines and fine nursing situations. 72.1 percent of these people suffered age discrimination and two-thirds complained of the lack of respect from the society as well as the family members.