A Study of Aged Persons at Chennai’s Old Age Homes in Terms of Sociology of Health
Examining the Needs and Rights of Elderly People in Chennai's Old Age Homes
by Ankit Sharma*, Tabassum Jahan,
- Published in Journal of Advances and Scholarly Researches in Allied Education, E-ISSN: 2230-7540
Volume 15, Issue No. 10, Oct 2018, Pages 80 - 84 (5)
Published by: Ignited Minds Journals
ABSTRACT
Government initiatives to eliminate abuse of senior adults are fast rising in the fields of modern, social, economic, public interest, and other aspects. However, the attitude toward elderly people is changing people have begun to despise them, and they have been forced to leave their houses. As a result, people become homeless and may be forced to relocate into old age facilities. The needs of senior folks are the subject of this essay. This article will be taken from a Delhi-based old age home that works to safeguard the rights of elderly people in order to emphasise the importance of research.
KEYWORD
aged persons, Chennai's old age homes, sociology of health, government initiatives, abuse, elderly people, attitude, homelessness, old age facilities, senior folks
INTRODUCTION
In India, rapid industrial growth and modernisation have also affected the population in several ways. The concept of a common family in Indian culture, which will be founded on love, love and custom, is progressively vanishing. The life of the family has also changed. It will be not a combination or a collaboration that began to believe in "Nuclear family." It made individuals living with their own families, including their husbands, wives and children. This culture has also altered every person's mood. At the present day, parents who fear their children, they began to refuse to live with them (children). Because of this, people began to move home in their old age where they were just for death. In India, there will be an increase of 12.1 million people in 1901, but in 2011 103.2 million1 had been registered. Elderly people are ranked 2nd worldwide in India (over 60 years)2. High-end medical, world-class treatment, social protection as well as the level of life and food are now accessible on a days-to-date basis3. If we travel deeper, the number of elderly individuals is larger than the youngsters that are newborn.
AGEING
Aging is a phenomena that is natural, inescapable and omnipresent. If he/she survives, everyone should face this procedure. It is one that is irrevocable. The affects of ageing are literally mentioned. It usually refers to the several consequences or manifestations of old age. It refers in this meaning to a kind of biological degradation. Different people looked at ageing differently. It implies power and money for politicians and for industrialists while it implies forced retirement for a middle class worker. It is an area of biological cell research and individual concerns for biologists and social scientists. Handler (1960) stated "Aging is the degradation of the natural organism as a consequence of the fundamentally irreversible changes which are reliant on all the members of species and are therefore increasing the chance of mortality with the passage of time." Beckar (1959) defines elderly people more broadly as 'Changes in the course of a person as a function of time.' He says that "Aging comprises of two parallel components of anabolic building and catabolism."
WHO ARE ALL AGED
The word "old age" we often use voluntarily: there is no clearly defined boundary of the old age. These opinions are not frequently accepted. The cycle of human life is split into four parts according to Hindu teachings. The two final divisions, vanaprastha and sanyasa are regarded as the final stage, that is, as age. One may not seem youthful at 55 or others because of the physical traits. In the cultural perspective, whether you accomplish all your responsibilities or you consider your grandchildren elderly. In general terms, retirement is a demarcating line to erase any insightful ideas about it. The UN defines elderly citizens as anyone above the age of 65. Because biological functions are frequently clearly degenerated.
components of the ageing phenomena may be examined. Physical ageing is characterised by the anatomical biological changes occurring in a person's life over time. It describes the degeneration in proportion to the chronological age of the physiological and physical process. Social and cultural ageing are interconnected, but vary according to their importance. The changes in behaviour and the position and position of persons in the family are described in social ageing. It relates to social duties and age-related expectations. It is the behaviour patterns, beliefs and other products of a certain group that are transferred through generations. The language, clothing, labour, traditions and cuisine in every community is their own. Indian culture expects a girl to be under the supervision of the father, that her husband has a wife under her husband's control and her boys have to take care of an old mother. The role a person plays throughout his life is important because of the cultural ageing.
PERSPECTIVES ON AGEING
The prospect of ageing differs. The four diverse views are functional, symbolic, conflictual and emancipatory. The elderly with expertise, expertise, and experience aid the preservation of society norms, values, and traditions from a functional standpoint. Negligence of elderly people according to societal settings must thus be remedied. This view suggests that information and my experience of elderly people are highly crucial to society's operation. Second, from the point of view of conflict, the ageing of society is problematical. In this view, as the people age, authority, status and advantages will be diminished unless they themselves have been preserved. It says that the rich and influential people have opposed attempts to support the elderly because they believe that spending on old people does not benefit them. It also indicates to the loss, in certain instances, of the physical strength and memory of the elderly, thereby minimising their influence. Thirdly, a symbolic approach explores the symbols and concepts which are used by individuals to interact with one other. According to this concept, everyone who reflects their own age becomes a symbol of their own age groups for others with their qualities and traits. Fourthly, for two reasons, the perspective of liberation is an alternative to above three viewpoints. First of all, it leaves the theoretical viewpoints presented above. Secondly, the freedom of the old from the exclusion of social, economic and political involvement in society is given emphasis. human growth. The present human development theory describes the development process as regards the individual's connection with culture. The theories of the development of the human life cycle are intended to explain the nature of growth and change patterns in people. They obviously presume that beyond puberty people continue to grow and evolve. As sequential development happens, the purpose of development theories is to grasp the nature of this sequence and to explain why it is progressing. Many development theories also strive to uncover the broad themes that may be considered applicable for all people worldwide within these patterns of growth and change. Often, theory of development takes the shape of a set of sequential phases.
BUHLER’S THEORY OF CYCLE LIFE
The trajectory of human existence was researched from biographies and autobiographies by Charlotte Buhler (1968) and her student. They created a system for assessing these autobiographical data to indicate an orderly sequence of phases based on changes in life cycle events, attitudes and achievements. They examined a parallel between biographical and biological life cycle and identified five distinct biological phases in human life, namely progressive development, continuing growth combined with reproductive ability, stable growth, loss of sex reproductive capacity, regressive growth and biological decline.
ERIKSON’S EIGHT STAGES OF HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
Erisk. H. Erikson (1968) said that personality, rather than biological elements, is shaped by society and develops through a series of crises. His psycho-social development hypothesis has been created. Developing as 8 crises or turning moments during the life span was characterised by Erikson. The crises arise from a maturing time schedule and have to be successfully handled for a healthy growth of the ego. Each one of the 8 crises demands the balance between the good and the corresponding negative characteristics. Erikson says that late adulthood, after 60 years of life, is the 8th and last growth phase. At this point, people are looking back and assessing what they have done. While most or all of the preceding developmental phases have had a good viewpoint, the retrospective view reveals a picture of the well-being of life and the individual is satisfied and integral. The retroactive view will possibly give rise to skepticism or dullness if the elderly adult concluded numerous previous phases adversely. population ageing, an elderly socio-economic profile and the system of family support for the elderly in the southern area of India have been discussed in his essay on the South India "Ageing and Family Support." In Kerala the proportion of individuals aged 60 years and above was higher (10.5%), followed by TN (8.8 percent). He also said that old ladies are generally higher than the male old population in the southern states. There were more elderly people in rural areas than in metropolitan regions. In rural and urban regions in all sections of the south of India, older women were out of number. It shows the greater life expectancy for women. In India, over 65% of the elderly people were partly or completely dependent on others to support their lives. The share of rural older adults was bit higher (66%) and somewhat lower for urban seniors (63percent). Anitha Eani M, Palani G, BWC Sathiyasekaran (2001) In old age homes, he researched the abuse of elders. Data have been acquired via interviews amongst old-age prisoners. It was found that institutionalised elderly had been harmed and faced with difficulties. Other results from the research show that the elderly were predominantly in the 60-69 age groups (38.1%). (62.9 percent ). Old age families experienced 1.5 percent (95% Cl of 0.2 to 3.2), 11.4% (95% Cl of 7.0% to 15.8) and 0.5% financial abuse. Physical abuse of elderly people had a frequency of 0.1%. (95 percent Cl of 0.5 to 1.5). Any sort of elderly mistreatment was 11.4 percent in old-age households (95 percent Cl of 7.0 to 15.8). Archana Kaushik, (2008) In her study, 'Factors influencing a security sense among elderly women,' the author considered the influencing security-sensitive drivers that did not significantly influence the sense of security among elderly women by the fact that socio-demographic variables like religion, caste, marital, education and occupational status. It has been shown that elderly ladies are safe and respected by their family members. Asiya Nasreen (2010) The Article on 'Family in transition and Old people challenges' said that the choice is to depend on the people with whom they live nearby in the lack of highly established social assistance systems for elderly people. It has been empirically shown that no other institution or agency but the family is regarded vital by the older people, whether they are resident in the nuclear or joint family structure, notwithstanding nuclearisation of families and changing attitudes and outlooks of younger generation. Care for the elderly is seen as an official obligation. Chipo Hungwe (2011) In its article, the meaning of institutionalisation for older people in the African/zimbabwean context, the reasons given for institutionalisation of old people in general, and how the role of older persons in society is enabled or institutionalisation takes away the advantages of institutionalisation for elder Africans and documentes them therefore. The researchers noted that the main cause for an institution was misery, when a single person lacks all other systems to provide support and hence cannot exist alone without the aid of external agencies such as the government or the church. It must only be institutionalised for people who cannot work/support themselves. Poverty is the same denominator for all elderly people who are now in the same socioeconomic position, although they had been highly respected in their prime years. Debi Chakrabarti (2009) Comparing the level of satisfaction of elderly persons living in the homes of old ages and in family settings, (i) comparing the well-being of the elderly in old age houses and families, (ii) evaluating their level of satisfaction in old age homes and in the family environment, (iii) comparing subjective well-being and also the level of satisfaction of the elderly who live in family homes. M.R. Aswathy, Prabha Valsaraj Blessy and Castelino Flavia (2011) Samples were picked from two distinct old-age homes in Kottayam district, kerala, for 60 institutionalised elderly aged between 60 and 80 years of age. In the experimental group 30 samples were picked from the setting and 30 were picked from another setting for the control group. They discovered that the programme for self-enhancement (SEP) improves institutionalised elderly self-esteem effectively (z value = 6,22, p value =,001). Mercy Anu Mathew, Linu Sara George and Nandakumar Paniyadi (2009). The research showed that institutional old people are suffering from excessive stress in comparison with non-institutional elderly people and a bad quality of life. He also indicated that the institutionalised and no institutionalized elderly percentage values for religious coping are greater (96.5% & 97.2%); the usage of instrumental support (81% & 86.3%) and acceptance were used by other coping techniques (81.2 percent & 80.7 percent ). Mukesh Kumar, RK Bansal, and Manoj Bansal (2008) 68 senior people who lived in four old-age houses in the city of Surat had been questioned. In all, there were 103 reasons given to these 68 people, including the elderly (36.9%) alone; physical insecurity (16.5%), neglect after a decrease in revenue contribution (10.7%); low medical care and living costs in old-age households compared to independent living (9.7%). (1 percent ). Swadesin Mahapatra (2010) The notion of old-age home, styles of house and attributes of ideal old-age home was thoroughly examined for the
generation to urban areas to look for jobs increases the vulnerability of the elderly people who remain behind. In general, elderly individuals from lower and low incomes merely require food and shelter. The poor, unprofitably elderly individuals, whose early years are engaged in modest incomes, which are mostly spent on their kiths or children intending to support them at age, remain unguarded and regarded a burden. Tanuja Mohapatra (2011) Concentrates on the socio-economic background of widows and on the shift in widowhood cultures, to analyse health issues, socio-economic concerns and widows' psychological difficulties, and to evaluate their attitudes to life and widow welfare advice. In order to obtain data from 160 elderly widows a structured interview plan consisted of easy and short questions was employed. The information was acquired via personal interviews between October 2009 and November 2009 (Kartik Month). Of the 160 older widows, 85 (53.1%), 63.8% (N=102) were analphabets from a same family. Most responders (93.1%) were vegetarian, and following the loss of their spouses they wear plain white sauces.
OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
• To describe the elderly's perspectives on their lives. • To examine the situation of the elderly and provide recommendations for solutions. • To have a better understanding of the elderly's experiences after entering an old age home. • To investigate the factors that induce the elderly to seek admission to an old age home.
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Aging is an irreversible and natural process. In western nations this issue is becoming increasingly severe. This dilemma is not simply an issue for the individual but also a social and economic one for the group. Country like India has a distinctive social and cultural framework. The structure of a common family, which offers houses for the destitute and vulnerable, such the elderly. The change in family structure and family size owing to modernisation, urban development, dramatic change in employment and the demographic movement of labour power dramatically influence the status of elderly people. The purpose of the current survey is to explore the grounds for admission, socio-economic profile, perceptions, issues of the elderly into their old age home. both paid (38) and free households (29). SAMPLE: Twenty old-age homes have been randomly chosen for our investigation. No less than 15 percent of prisoners are randomly chosen from each house. There were a total of 400 interviewees. The overall number of prisoners in 20 ancient houses amounts to 35,81%. Tools for data collection: Focus Group Discution (FGD) and Case Studies are selected as key data gathering techniques as interview schedules augmented by observations. In addition, secondary data will also be obtained from the records, public data and home authorities. Data Processing Technique: The basic data are processed statistically in order for conclusions to be drawn. For data analysis, the relevant statistical procedures are used such as average, standard deviation, percentile score and Chi-Square tests.
CONCLUSION
The ageing of populations is omnipresent and normal. Aging is not an illness but one of the phases of life. India is a grey nation, since the older people represent more than seven per cent of the population. India is not simply a developing nation. The ageing population is exposed to many issues notwithstanding all regulations and programmes. One of the key aspects of Indian society is the value system of India and of families. The social system dilutes and withdraws its functioning components thanks to the numerous modernisation factors. The elderly are one of the main sufferers of this modernity and declining society. The individualistic mentality and materialistic difference in generation complicate the scale of the issue of the elderly.
REFERENCES
1. Archana Kaushik (2008). Factors Influencing Sense of Security among Elderly Women, Indian Journal of Gerontology, Vol. 22, No. 2. pp. 175 -195. 2. Bhat, Anitha Kumari and Raj Dhruvarajan (2001). ―Ageing in India: Drifting Intergenerational Relations, Challenges and Options‖ in Ageing and Society, vol. 21. 3. Debi Chakrabarti (2009). Well-being of the Elderly Residing in Old Age Home Vs. those in Family Setting in Tripura, the Nursing Journal ofIndia, Vol.C ,No.lO 5. Sasmita Mohapatra and K. Laxmi Narayan (2009). Caring for the aged: The Role of NGOs, international journal of Sociology of the family, vol.35, No. 1 (spring) 6. Ajaya Kumar Sahoo. Gavin J. Andrews. S. Irudaya Rajan (2009). Sociology of Ageing A Reader Jaipur: Rawat Publications 7. Phoebe S. Liebig, S. Irudaya Rajan (2005). An Ageing India perspectives, prospects and Policies. Jaipur: Rawat Publications 8. Helpage India (2004). Promoting productive ageing, Health action, February, pp. 9-10. 9. Legare J. and Martel, L. (2003). Living Arrangements of Older Persons in the Early Ninety‘s:An International Comparison, Genus, Vol. LIX, No. 1, pp. 85-103. 10. Yatish Mishra and Parantap K. Das (2008). Crime against senior citizens in changing social order, Social Welfare, Vol. 55. No.7
Corresponding Author Ankit Sharma*
Research Scholars, Department of Sociology, Sai Meer Degree College, Uttar Pradesh