About the Book
This volume highlights a range of issues underpinning elder care in India, with particular focus on the challenges that India faces in caring for the elderly. In addition to the very limited state support and near total dependence on the family for long-term social care and economic support, the changing dynamics between generations and in the family structure and privatization of health care in general create new challenges that need to be addressed.
Although care plays a significant role in the well-being of the elderly, there is not much research available from India. This volume draws on field-based evidence and the legal framework in India to understand the ways in which care is organized for the elderly and to locate the main sources of care provision. The book addresses key themes such as shrinking of traditional support base of the elderly, trajectory of old age homes in India and care arrangements for the elderly within the community. Written by academics and practitioners in the field of gerontology, this book is an informative resource for demographers, gerontologists, social scientists studying aging, and human rights and legal experts working with the aged.
Contents
1. Caring India: An Introduction / S. Irudaya Rajan, Gayathri Balagopal
2. After the Dividend: Caring for a Greying India / Debasis Barik, Tushar Agrawal, Sonalde Desai
3. ‘Fragile Body and Failing Memory’: The Construction of Care for the Elderly by the Laws and Policies in India / Deblina Dey
4. Ageing Population: Need for Formal Care Workers / Bharti Birla
5. Old Age Homes in India: Sharing the Burden of Elderly Care with the Family / Anupama Datta
6. Elder Care and Living Arrangement in Kerala / S. Irudaya Rajan, S. Sunitha, U. R. Arya
7. Socio-Economic Condition and Social Support Among the Ageing Tiwas of Assam / Chandana Sarmah, Barnali Das
8. Care and Support During Twilight Years: Perception of Elderly from Rural India / Dhananjay W. Bansod
9. Importance of Caregiving in Accomplishment of Daily Routine Activities of the Oldest-Old / Shubham, A. K. Joshi
10. Vulnerability and Coping Mechanism of Aged: A Study of Elderly Widows in Jharkhand / Sangeeta Kumari Gupta, T. V. Sekher
11. Elderly Women: Prevailing Paradigm of Caring Scenario in the Backdrop of Feminisation of Ageing / S. Jayashree
12. Caring for the Elderly with Dementia / Robert Mathew
13. Care and Support Arrangements Among Elderly Residents of an Urban Slum in Tamil Nadu State, India / Gayathri Balagopal
14. Sibling Care Among Rural Elderly Widows / C. Aruna
15. Migrant Children, Ageing Parents and Transnational Care Strategies: Experiences from Central Travancore, Kerala / Sreerupa
About the Author / Editor
S. Irudaya Rajan, Centre for Development Studies Thiruvananthapuram, India
Gayathri Balagopal, Independent Researcher Chennai, India
