Sociology 2

Session 7

Akhaya Kumar Nayak

Problems of
Elderly
 Health and Mortality transition

Fertility transition

Migration transition
Demographic
transitions
Age transition

Household transition

Urban transition
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/01/31/parents-responsible-care-elderlymothers-fathers-much-children/
Where in the
world are the
old people
concentrated?
https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.POP.65UP.TO.ZS?year_high_desc=true
The countries with the largest percentage of total population over 65 years in 2020
Countries with the largest percentage of total population over 65 years 2020

35%

30% 29%
Percentage of population over 65 years

26%
25% 23% 23%
22% 22% 22% 22% 22%
21% 21%
20% 20% 20% 20% 20% 20% 20% 20% 20% 20%
20%

15%

10%

5%

0%

Note(s): Worldwide; mid-2020

Further information regarding this statistic can be found on page 8.
4 Source(s): Population Reference Bureau; ID 264729
The countries with the largest percentage of total population over 65 years in 2023
Countries with the largest percentage of total population over 65 years 2023

40%
36%
35%
Percentage of population over 65 years

30%

25% 24%
23% 23% 23%
22%
21% 21% 21% 21%
20% 20% 20% 20% 20%
20%

15%

10%

5%

0%

Note(s): Worldwide; mid-2023

Further information regarding this statistic can be found on page 8.
4 Source(s): Population Reference Bureau; ID 264729
• https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.POP.65UP.TO?year_high_desc=true
 https://www
.populationpy
ramid.net/w
orld/2019/

World bank
2019
India: Age distribution from 2011 to 2021
Age distribution in India 2011-2021

0-14 years 15-64 years 65 years +

100%
5.17% 5.27% 5.36% 5.48% 5.61% 5.79% 5.98% 6.18% 6.38% 6.57% 6.78%
90%

80%

70%
Share of the population

64.43% 64.81% 65.21% 65.6% 65.94% 66.27% 66.54%

60% 66.77% 67% 67.27% 67.45%

50%

40%

30%

20%
30.4% 29.93% 29.43% 28.93% 28.44% 27.93% 27.48% 27.05% 26.62% 26.16% 25.78%
10%

0%
2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021

Note(s):
Further information regarding this statistic can be found on page 8.
2 Source(s): World Bank; ID 271315
 Aging in India: Some Key Issues
• India in cross road
• Old age: Respect and Wisdom
• Joint family and common land holdings made the elderly care easy
• Low per-capita income,
• One fifth of population are in extreme poverty
• Low standard of living, low literacy rate, poor status of women, high
birth rate and infant mortality rate
• Respect to old age and children taking care of elderly culturally is the
only respite
• 1979: Geriatric Society of India
• 1982: founding of the association of gerontology
Demographic characteristics and consequences
Demographic characteristics and consequences
• Young-old and Old-Old
• Increasing old-old: Rectangularization of old age
• Disability free life expectancy and its usefulness
• Gender difference in old age: Feminization of old age
• Illiteracy: in 2011 were 82.14% for men and 65.46% for women
(74% total)

• Health facilities in India and challenges of disability free life

expectancy
Health and disability
 Health and mortality transition

Health and Disability free LE is higher for

disability female than male

Physical and mental health

Work and Dependency Status

• More elderly are full time workers in rural areas than urban
area
• Nature of economic activity in rural and urban areas
• Contribution to household work
Work and Dependency Status
 • Living with children
• Living with spouses only
Living • Living alone
arrangements • Living in old-age homes and widow
ashramas
 70 plus: 80% female and 20%
male are widows/widowers

Gender Reasons
aging

Consequences
Changing dynamics in India
• Elderly in family
• Disintegration of joint family and changing values
• Working couples
• Migrating children
• Post parenting couple families and loneliness
• Changing pattern of Kinship and relations
• Decreasing intergenerational interaction and affection: alienation and
loneliness
• Perception of younger generation towards old-age problems
• Treatment of mother-in-law towards daughter-in-law is positively
correlated with care giving in old age
• Rural urban differences in intergenerational interaction
Elderly care some considerations
• Preference of care receivers and care givers
• Difference in Indian and western parents preferences
• Indian daughters-law preferences
• The elder as a resource
• Vanaprastha in Vedic India
• Evaluating their potential and utilizing it effectively
• Social Security programme for Indian elderly
• Pension, PF, contributory pension funds, new pension schemes of
government of India
• Old age pension
• Started in 1997-98
The case
• What does home instead offer?
• What is the necessity/demand of the product/services offered
by HIC?
• What are the challenges they face?
• Domestic
• International
• How do they address the challenges?
• Can it be replicated in India?
• What alternative provisions can be there for India?
Activity
• Based on the insights from the case of “Home Instead”, and
keeping in mind the impact of culture, (norms, Values, beliefs,
language, etc.) design a business model for an old age care
system for future India
Conclusion
• As an alternative to medical model, the country needs to
evolve an indigenous elder care model which would
incorporate several support services into an overall family and
community care system

• Elderly abuse in India: 6:32 minute

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=36&v=pQ6Zu
xrt8xg
 Video on Elderly Satyameva Jayate
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G22Up6JogqQ
Thank You

Akhaya Kumar Nayak

aknayak@iimidr.ac.in