About Us

Worldwide Elderly Population is increasing three to four times more than the overall population in general. Children population is declining fast. There is a phenomenal decline in fertility, conventionally child population has been more than the elderly population. By 2050, India’s elderly population would be 20 percent. By 2025, it will have approximately 106 million elderly standing second compared to the world after China.

The family based traditional model of Elderly care is under turmoil due to incredible socio-demographic transformation. The system of old age care of older people is cracking down. Bloom (2011) recorded four main reasons for it. These are

1. Female’s increasing labour force participation,
2. Smaller and more mobile children,
3. Widening generation gaps and
4. Increasing cost of treatment of diseases.

Guided by unscientific outlooks about Age and Aging and predominance of century old negative narratives, states have terribly failed to create age friendly society. It has rather been pushing elderly to live life of indignity, disengagement and loneliness along with host of diseases: physical, social and emotional.

On account of century old negative narratives prevailing in society, there is absolutely an absence of an age friendly environment. So how to create an enabling environment for graceful ageing is a great challenge.

The gaps between elder’s own expectations of care and outlook of care providers are increasingly becoming dangerous. Who can bridge the gaps and create in depth bonding between elderly and caregivers?

Elderly care issues become complicated when older people repeatedly find difficulty in Activities of Daily Living (ADL). ADL entails mobility, bathing, dressing, driving, cooking, cleaning, taking medicine independently, etc.

Vulnerability makes elderly more sensitive. The challenge is how to ensure that vulnerable elderly are looked after with sensitivity as per their needs?

• The traditional model of old age care is continuously cracking.
• The bond between young-old, son and ageing parents is rapidly depleting.
• We lack social security and old age planning covering physical, social, psychological, emotional and economic well-being. Who can play the role of facilitator to strengthen the bond between young & old?
• An Age-old assumption that son is securing of old age care is turning wrong.
• So, graceful ageing and longevity of life with blessings and not curse are two emerging challengers of 21st century.

On account of transition in the traditional system of older care in the family, private ‘Old Age Home’, Care Home and Residential complex for seniors are mushrooming without appropriate policy and regulatory body. The challenge is how to safeguard the rights of older people and ensure an enabling environment for Graceful Ageing?

Elderly care issues are multidimensional. Managing the issues efficiently needs participation of stakeholders from Government, Non-government, professionals and people from the communities. The challenge is who can create a platform to bring stakeholders from different disciplines/areas?

Graceful Ageing entails personal, social and political dimensions. At individual level, elderly internalize negative narratives of age and ageing. We don’t know how much every elderly is affected by the existing narratives?

Why the elderly care values are depleting? And why elderly abuse of different nature is increasing? Why the states are not sensitive to the fast-growing population of older people and longevity of life? Without understanding reasons of neglect and abuse of elderly, it is not possible to understand the inherent reasons of ungraceful aging.

Graceful Ageing also requires quality health care services. Several pitfalls are embedded in the existing health care system, both public and private. The elderly need services of doctors on regular basis for every health problem.

There is the need of the services of health attorney like financial and legal attorney on nominal, and affordable cost on regular basis for all those who need.

Quality sleep is another important dimension of graceful ageing. Quality sleep deprivation is worse than another physical dimension. It is as bad as food deprivation. Hunger affects physically but lack of Quality sleep disturbs cognitive competencies and emotional equilibrium. It ultimately affects total health being. Awareness about quality sleep in completely missing amongst most of us. And it has to travel thousands of miles to create sensitivity about sleep among the people.

Absence of elderly abuse is an extremely valuable dimension of graceful ageing. Unfortunately, it is still a taboo. More than 70 percent elderly never report abuse which they are facing (HelpAge India 2018) violence, abuse and neglect amongst elderly is increasing worldwide. Every 5th elderly suffers with one or another form of abuse (WHO 2022). Studies by HelpAge India and Khan, 2018 have reported different forms of elderly abuse such as disrespect, verbal abuse, beating, slapping, emotional torture, and various forms of abuses which include physical, social, emotional, economic and property. 25% of elderly people get abused by their own kith and kins. Abuse by own son (43.6%), daughter-in-law (27.8%) and even daughter (14.2%).

• Rural elderly without land are abused more.
• Poor health and disability are precursive of elderly abuse.
• Physical or mental disability increases dependency, and this leads to elderly abuse.
• Elderly engaged in activities in and outside experience less abuse.
• Elderly not engaged in, and outside activities experience more less abuse.
• Elderly not engaged in activities suffer more abuse.
• Elderly not having land, savings, children and not able to perform daily activities of life (ADL) are chronically vulnerable.
• We lack data on vulnerable people who encounter more abuse.

Rejection, dejection and indifference in everyday life are reported in research studies. As one gets old and older, family’s attention declines Age based discrimination known as Agism is heavily rooted into our social activities. It is equally embedded into policies, which recognize Elderly as liability and not resource. Recent studies have raised questions to existing stereotypes of old age. Studies rather found elderly as resource. There is an immediate need to introspect our prevailing perspectives of old age and ageing.

Poor face 1.5 times more discrimination. Lonely face 1.8 times discrimination. The homeless face 1.6 times more discrimination. All these cause old age vulnerability safeguarding the basic human dignity including the dignity of old age persons and these are globally recognized human rights.

Childhood and old age are natural conditions of life where children depend on parents and vice-versa. But this natural phenomenon is radically depleting.

We need to take up activities for Re-imaging old age and ageing, and relooking existing perspective of elderly: Resource versus liability, which would reinforce graceful aging? Other areas are Elderly as Resource of Nation building, strong social security, age friendly health care system, challenging ageism, building data bank, elderly empowerment, elderly engagement policy, awareness about graceful aging, promoting quality sleep, strengthening young-old bondage, strengthening elderly care values, regulating Old Age Homes, Care Home and Seniors Resident Houses.

Global Research Foundation of Sleep Health and Graceful Ageing (GRFSHGA) envisages to work in these areas through education, Research and training through global networking and collaborating with both public, private and non-governmental organizations.