For Family Members
National Helpline 24*7
Elder Line (no. 14567): India’s first national helpline for seniors launched by Tata Trusts
Other links regarding the national helpline-
List of awards and benefit schemes by the government for senior citizens
Senior Care Reforms in India: A Niti Aayog report highlighting various government schemes and initiatives for the elderly
National Program for Healthcare of the Elderly (NPHCE): Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India initiative
Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizen Act, 2007: by Central Government
National Policy for senior citizens (1999, 2011?)
National action plan for senior citizens
Senior citizens schemes by Government of Maharashtra:
Nutritional recommendations for the elderly:
Age-related changes in nutritional status can depend on a variety of factors like physiological, metabolic, immunological, and cellular/molecular. Further, micronutrient deficiencies are linked to a number of age-related disorders, which negatively impacts the health of the elderly. Therefore, it is necessary to specify and ensure adequate nutrient requirements for the elderly
Vaccination guidelines for the elderly:
Just as kids, elders are prone to various infections which can best be prevented through vaccination. Many statutory bodies in India and abroad recommend a couple of vaccines for the elderly. Those recommended by the national societies are listed in the table below-
How to make your home elder-friendly to avoid falls-
with growing age, elders become prone to falls which can lead to major complications. As per a recent study by Lancet, traumatic brain injury due to falls or any accident is also implicated as a major risk factor for Dementia in later years of life. We have listed a few simple steps below to avoid falls in elders-
- Use of safety rails and other aids like adjustable shower tools/commodes, anti-skid flooring/mats in the bathroom.
- Use of digital Assistants like Amazon Alexa and Google Home can help the elderly to manage their daily routines and access information hands-free. These devices help reduce the workload and thus, tendency to fall. Also, they offer companionship support to them.
- Robotic Assistance devices like robotic vacuum cleaners and robotic companions can help the elderly to manage their homes and reduce the risk of fall in doing household chores.
- Smart Home Automation: These systems also help elderly in managing their homes easily. They can control lighting, temperature, and security features, and can be operated using voice commands or mobile apps. They devices are also useful devices in controlling wandering in patients with dementia.
Measures to reduce loneliness or social isolation-
- Social Networking: Social networking platforms like Facebook and WhatsApp can help the elderly to stay connected with friends and family, reducing social isolation and loneliness.
- Actively engaging in things of personal interest- people often have some hobbies or talents that remain unpursued owing to family circumstances. Post-retirement, many people find joy in rekindling their lost passion such as gardening, dancing or many such. These are great ways to keep oneself joyfully engaged and cognitively stimulated.
- Participating in local social clubs or group activities of the housing society– Now-a-days, residential societies in the cities have in-house temples, gyms, cultural rooms and social clubs. These places offer great socializing platform for everyone including elders.
Wearables for smart monitoring-
Now-a-days plenty of smart devices are available in the market that allow monitoring of physical activity, blood pressure, heart rate or even round-the-clock blood glucose levels in a person. These devices, often in the form of a wearable product such as watch, offer a great solution for monitoring the health status of elders and alarming the family members in case of any emergency. Some of the popular wearables are given in the table below-
Dementia-a practical handbook for person with Dementia and their family members (informal caregivers) developed by DEMCARES, SCARF India.
Informative Movies/Books/Social media pages/You tube videos-
Several books, videos and movies have been made to create awareness about Dementia. We recommend visiting https://dementiacarenotes.in/resources/ , a comprehensive website by Ms. Swapna Kishore for further information and useful links of the most impactful of the abovementioned resources.
Digital Devices that can be used to help patients with Dementia-
As per reports, 40% of patients with dementia get lost at some point. This poses a real threat to their well-being especially if they remain missing for long. Moreover, it also strains the ties between family-members, caretakers or nursing homes.
What should you do, if your family member with dementia has a wandering tendency-
- Inform caregivers, neighbors, and other family members that wandering may happen.
- Equip the home with smart gadgets or monitoring systems to minimize the risk of wandering. Make it harder for him/her to wander and if they do, make it safer.
- Prepare the patient with suitable GPS tracking devices or PERS.
Personal Emergency Response Systems (PERS):
These are wearable gadgets e.g. watch that help the elderly to call for emergency help in case of a fall or medical emergency. With inbuild GPS tracking, the device alerts the caregivers on site or in remote locations that there is a wandering event occurring. The location of the patient can be tracked from any computer, tablet or smartphone. Some companies in India that provide such devices are-
Other devices like motion sensors, medical alert bracelets
