Care for the Ailing Senior Citizens

Care for the Ailing Senior Citizens in India analyses the phenomenon of unpaid and paid Home Care, and Community-based Care in India. Unpaid Care has been traditionally provided within the family, and to a large extent by female members of the family. The responsibility is now being somewhat shared by other members of the family as well. The nuclearization of the Indian family has given rise to the phenomenon of Paid Care both at the level of Home and the Community; Caregivers are now being hired by institutions for the ailing elderly or those receiving Palliative Care. Built into the process of Care is Respite Care for the caregiver both at the level of Home and Community. The growth of Caregiving as a profession has given rise to capacity building of such caregivers at the level of Certificate, Diploma or Advanced Courses. Some kind of standardization is required in the process of curriculum development for such Courses; the goal of patient-centred care and its sustainability continues to be the focus of such curriculum development.

Jai Prakash Dubey  (b. 1960) is Associate Professor in the Department of Adult, Continuing Education and Extension, at the University of Delhi. He has authored two books on Extension in Higher Education in India. The two scholars have earlier edited a volume of papers of Human Rights of Older Persons in 2012. They continue to apply the principles of Lifelong Learning to the challenges faced by older persons in India.

Ashok Sharma (b. 1960) is Director, Professor and Dean of the School of Studies in Lifelong Learning, Extension and Social Work at Jiwaji University, Gwalior.