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2011-05-25T21:36:00.000-07:00

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10 Tricks for Improving Your Memory

2010-09-06T22:15:00.000-07:00

By Sarah Jio Posted August 23, 2010 from WomansDay.com

What’s the name of your daughter’s teacher, and where did you put your keys again? If you’ve ever wished you could do some simple things to sharpen your memory skills, you can. We’ve talked to the experts and compiled the latest thinking on improving the muscles in your brain associated with memory.

1. Talk with your hands.
It may sound strange, but waving your hands and gesturing while trying to learn a concept may help your brain remember something important, says Jeff Brown, PsyD, ABPP, coauthor of The Winner’s Brain. "Gesturing in a meaningful way while you are learning may help you when recalling the concept,” he says. “The idea is that you are storing at least two different types of information about something you'll need to recall later. A good example of this is when kids speak math problems aloud, but also 'work them' in the air.” Tactics to try: When you’ve just learned someone’s name, “write” it down on the palm of your hand with your finger. The act of tracing the letters on your palm (discreetly, of course) can help your brain remember it, says Dr. Brown. Or, “Air-write on an imaginary map of your grocery store or mall as you name aloud the items or stores you need to remember when shopping.”

2. Take a chill pill.
Learning to calm down and not carry as much stress can help your brain in significant ways, says Elizabeth Lombardo, PhD, PT, a psychologist and physical therapist in Wexford, Pennsylvania, and the author of A Happy You: Your Ultimate Prescription for Happiness. “The best tip to improve your memory is: Reduce your stress,” says Dr. Lombardo. “Research shows that when people experience chronic stress, their hippocampus—the part of your brain that is responsible for some memories—literally shrinks in size.” In fact, a 2007 study in the journal Neurology by researchers at Rush University Medical School found that people who are easily distressed and had more negative emotions were more likely to develop memory problems than more easygoing people. How to reduce your stress? Consider delegating more tasks at work, clearing your social calendar for the weekend (there’s nothing wrong with having nothing on the calendar!) and purging negative relationships from your life.

3. Get plenty of zzz’s.
You’ve heard the concept of “sleeping on it” when you’re faced with a problem or difficult decision, right? Well, getting a good night’s sleep can help you improve your memory, too. "Sleep is critical for memory consolidation,” says Dr. Brown. “Getting at least six hours of uninterrupted sleep following exposure to new information can help in the recall of that information.” But there’s an important side note: “The trick is going directly to bed without inserting any new information or activity between what you want to recall and going to sleep—no reading, no TV, no sex, no music."

4. Eat more fruits and veggies.
Eating your spinach—and carrots and peas—is not only good for your body, it’s good for your memory, too. A recent Harvard study found that people who ate more vegetables had a slower decline of brain function as they aged. “Other studies, such as one published in Pharmacology, have shown that essential brain-boosting nutrients found in certain produce, such as quercetin and anthocyanin, may reverse memory loss,” says Tosca Reno, a health and fitness expert and author of the bestselling book The Eat-Clean Diet. You can find these compounds in cruciferous vegetables, such as Brussels sprouts, broccoli and cabbage, as well as in leafy greens, including kale, spinach and Swiss chard. Also load up on brightly colored produce such as berries, red apples, eggplant and grapes—their bright hue is an indication of their brain-boosting antioxidants.

5. Join a book club.
Not only is reading great for your brain, but discussing what you’ve read can improve your memory by leaps and bounds, says Sandra Bond Chapman, PhD. In fact, a book club with your closest girlfriends may help strengthen your brain’s frontal lobe function. “The frontal lobe is the last region of the brain to develop, but the first to decline with age,” explains Dr. Chapman. “To strengthen function of the frontal lobe, engage in deeper-level thinking activities such as interpreting what you read in a book, discussing the ‘larger messages’ in the book and pushing to see how many meanings you can derive from it.”

6. Go to yoga class.
What can a downward-facing-dog pose do for your memory? A lot, says Gina Norman, a yoga teacher in New York City. “A new study out of the University of North Carolina shows that brief meditative exercise helps cognition and skills essential to critical thinking,” she says. But if you’re not into yoga, exercise of any kind works to boost your brain, says Dr. Lombardo. “Research shows that exercise increases the blood flow to all areas of your body, including the brain and specifically areas involved in memory,” she says. “One study found that mice who exercised grew new brain cells in the dentate gyrus, a part of the hippocampus which can be affected by declines in memory as we get older.” Short on time? “Try running up a flight of stairs, jogging to a bathroom that is farther away from you, doing 50 jumping jacks, putting on a great song and dancing around, or grabbing your child’s hand and jumping on the bed together.”

7. Sniff some rosemary.
Parsley and sage are great, as is thyme, but when it comes to improving memory, rosemary is king. In a recent study, UK researchers looked at scents and how they boosted or detracted from mental performance. They found that office workers whose cubicles were infused with the scent of rosemary had better long-term memory than those in unscented cubes. “There are other essential oils that can help with memory, but rosemary is by far the best and most economical,” says Cher Core, an aromatherapist in Boston. “Diffuse rosemary essential oil in the air, wear it in a perfume, use it in mists and more. It is a good choice for those studying and folks who need help with memory, focus and concentration.”

8. Pay attention.
Duh, right? It may sound obvious, but according to experts, when most people think they’re having memory problems, it’s really because they were distracted or didn’t record the information in their brain properly to begin with, says Linda Edelstein, PhD, adjunct faculty at Northwestern University and the author of The Art of Midlife. “When people cannot retrieve information it is often because they haven't taken it in in the first place,” she says. “You cannot recall information that you did not store.” The number-one trick to paying closer attention? Stop multitasking and be fully present. That means setting down the BlackBerry while lunching with your friend, turning off the TV when you’re trying to read something and not letting your eyes—or mind—wander when chatting with someone at a party. You’ll be more likely to remember the person’s name.

9. Learn a new song.
Have you ever found yourself singing along to a song you love that debuted 10 years ago, and yet you still don’t know the lyrics? Learning the words could be fun, but it could also be good for your memory in general. By memorizing a song, “you will be working out at least two different kinds of memory, auditory and verbal, which is probably something you don't do very often,” says Cynthia Green, PhD, an expert on brain health and memory. “The research suggests that constantly challenging our brains with intellectual pursuits may boost our ‘cognitive reserve’ and can have the associated benefit of reducing our dementia risk over the long-term.”

10. Go ahead and doodle.
When’s the last time you grabbed a pencil and paper and let your mind go—drawing hearts and rainbows, or whatever scene or object popped into your head? Surprisingly, says Dr. Green, a free-flowing pen could be the key to strengthening your brain’s memory centers. “Doodling has been found in studies to boost concentration, which is an essential first step to learning and memory,” says Dr. Green. “After all, if you can't focus on information, you don't acquire it effectively, and you can never remember something you don't learn in the first place!”

http://www.womansday.com/Articles/Health/10-Tricks-for-Improving-Your-Memory.html?cid=wd:stu:health:memorytricks

SENIOR CITIZENS’ NATIONAL PROTEST DAY OBSERVED AT CHANDIGARHSENIOR CITIZENS’ NATIONAL PROTEST DAY OBSERVED AT CHANDIGARH

2010-08-24T03:07:00.000-07:00

THE SILENT MARCH – Our Concern for Suffering Fellow Senior Citizens

By Harchandan Singh, Secretary General CCCGPA & RSCWS

It is rare that the people jointly raise a voice for a cause that does not directly affect to them. It is even more rare that the “Haves” jointly but selflessly raise their voice for the “Have Nots”. It is rather rare of the rarest to see the sexagenarians, septuagenarians, octogenarians and nonagenarians all march together in hundreds - on issues of National importance.

It was exactly all like that what happened on that historic day of 16^th August, 2010 – when over 500 Senior Citizens belonging to nearly 30 different organisations of the tri-city of Chandigarh, Panchkula & Mohali marched together through the main city centre in Sector 17 – carrying Banners and chest patches bearing slogans in support of their demands with a message to the Nation and younger generation to “RESPECT AGE” & “CARE FOR THE ELDERS”.

The march was a part of the Senior Citizens National Protest Day. It was followed by a delegation meeting the UT Administrator & Governor Punjab Shri Shiv Raj Patil and presenting to him as well to the Deputy Commissioner Chandigarh - a Memorandum addressed to the Prime Minister of India – on the major issues relating to the Senior Citizens.

who all participated

The Silent March was led by some seniors in their 80s & 90s on the wheel chairs & crutches followed by the Banner bearing members of Chandigarh Senior Citizens Association (CSCA) and Members of various Chapters of CSCA, Coordination Committees of Central Government Pensioners Associations (CCCGPA), P & T Pensioners Welfare Association, Railway Senior Citizens Welfare Society (RSCWS), Association of Retired Officers of Indian Audit & Account Deptt., Central Government Pensioners Association, Association of Retired Officers of Labour Bureau, ESIC Retired Officers Association, SBI Pensioners Association, Federation of Senior Citizens (FEDSEN) – North and some other groups of Human Right Association and Women & Youth Organisations.

WHAT WERE THE MAIN ISSUES

For several decades, Governments at the Centre and in the states have been neglecting the problems of senior citizens. Out of 10 crores of older persons, 66% go hungry every day; 90% have no social or health security; 37% are lonely and neglected.

National Policy on Older Persons – announced in 1999 – has not been fully implemented by a single state. The Policy visualizes that the state will extend support for financial security, healthcare, shelter, welfare and other needs of older persons, provide protection against abuse and exploitation. The policy aims at well - being of older persons, so that they will not live unprotected, ignored or marginalized. Its objective is to help older persons to live their last phase of their life with purpose, dignity and peace. But it has yet to be implemented anywhere.

Only 3 states out of 35 have effectively implemented the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act – though three years have passed. Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme had been implemented by only a few States. There is no comprehensive medical or health care for old people after 60 years of age.

Several sincere and serious attempts to get Governments involved and to listen to problems and demands failed. It was therefore decided to observe a Protest Day, on an all India basis, on August 16 to press for the following demands:

Health Insurance for all Senior Citizens with modest premium and without restrictions of “entry and exit age” and “pre-existing health conditions”, early implementation of the “Maintenance & Welfare of Parents & Senior Citizens Act” in all States and Union Territories, implementation the existing NPOP (National Policy for Older Persons) with adequate budgetary support, Uniform age of 60 years for Exemption under Income Tax Act and Old Age Pension for all Senior Citizens and Additional Pension to Pensioners / Family Pensioners who are 65 years & above for meeting health related requirements – as done in case of those of 80 years and above.

Coimbatore Senior Citizens Helpline found very useful

2010-08-22T10:22:00.000-07:00

The Hindu Coimbatore 4th August 20

Senior citizens' helpline evokes good response

The senior citizens' helpline the West Zone police introduced recently
has found a good response. A release from the P. Sivanandi, Inspector
General of Police, West Zone, said 52 persons had lodged complaints
since the police launched the service on July 27. And, of those the
police had attended to 45.

The complainants were from the eight districts in the Zone and sought
action against son or daughter on charges of neglect. The release said
the police at the helpline, after noting down the complaint, forwarded
the same to the police station concerned for further action. The local
police, after verifying the charges, spoke to those who had been named
in the complaints to arrive at a solution. In most instances the
police did not register cases but received a written commitment from
those named in complaints. Only once did the police register a case
and that was when a father had complained about his son's rude
behaviour in inebriated condition. The son, a 42-year-old, had been
remanded in custody.

The release said the remaining seven cases were under investigation.
The helpline is available on 99440-95555.

Arthritis Advice

2010-08-10T00:32:00.000-07:00

The word "arthritis" makes many people think of painful, stiff joints. But, there are many kinds of arthritis, each with different symptoms and treatments. Most types of arthritis are chronic. That means they can go on for a long period of time.

Arthritis can attack joints in almost any part of the body. Some types of arthritis cause changes you can see and feel—swelling, warmth, and redness in your joints. In some kinds of arthritis, the pain and swelling last only a short time, but are very uncomfortable. Other types of arthritis might be less painful, but still slowly cause damage to your joints.

Common Kinds of Arthritis

Arthritis is one of the most common diseases in the United States. Older people most often have osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, or gout.

Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common type of arthritis in older people. OA starts when tissue, called cartilage, that pads bones in a joint begins to wear away. When the cartilage has worn away, your bones rub against each other. OA most often happens in your hands, neck, lower back, or the large weight-bearing joints of your body, such as knees and hips.
OA symptoms range from stiffness and mild pain that comes and goes to pain that doesn’t stop, even when you are resting or sleeping. Sometimes OA causes your joints to feel stiff after you haven’t moved them for awhile, like after riding in the car. The stiffness goes away when you move the joint. Over time, OA can make it hard to move your joints. It can cause a disability if your back, knees, or hips are affected.

Why do you get OA? Growing older is what most often puts you at risk for OA, possibly because your joints and the cartilage around them become less able to recover from stress and damage. Also, OA in the hands may run in families. Or, OA in the knees can be linked with being overweight. Injuries or overuse may cause OA in joints such as knees, hips, or hands.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disease, a type of illness that makes your body attack itself. RA causes pain, swelling, and stiffness that lasts for hours. RA can happen in many different joints at the same time. People with RA often feel tired or run a fever. RA is more common in women than men.

RA can damage almost any joint. It often happens in the same joint on both sides of your body. RA can also cause problems with your heart, muscles, blood vessels, nervous system, and eyes.

Gout is one of the most painful kinds of arthritis. It most often happens in the big toe, but other joints can also be affected. Swelling may cause the skin to pull tightly around the joint and make the area red or purple and very tender.

Eating foods rich in purines like liver, dried beans, peas, anchovies, or gravy can lead to a gout attack. Using alcohol, being overweight, and taking certain medications may make gout worse. In older people, some blood pressure medicines can also increase the chance of a gout attack. To decide if you have gout, your doctor might do blood tests and x-rays.

Warning Signs

You might have some type of arthritis if you have:

Ongoing joint pain
Joint swelling
Joint stiffness
Tenderness or pain when touching a joint
Problems using or moving a joint normally
Warmth and redness in a joint

If any one of these symptoms lasts more than 2 weeks, see your regular doctor or one who specializes in treating arthritis, called a rheumatologist. If you have a fever, feel physically ill, suddenly have a swollen joint, or have problems using your joint, see your doctor right away.

Treating Arthritis

Getting enough rest, doing the right exercise, eating a healthy, well-balanced diet, and learning the right way to use and protect your joints are keys to living with any kind of arthritis. The right shoes and a cane can help with pain in the feet, knees, and hips when walking. There are also gadgets to help you open jars and bottles or to turn the doorknobs in your house.

Some medicines can help with pain and swelling. Acetaminophen might ease arthritis pain. Some people find NSAIDs (nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs), like ibuprofen, naproxen, and ketoprofen, helpful. Some NSAIDs are sold without a prescription, while others must be prescribed by a doctor. Be very careful about possible side effects of some NSAIDs, whether sold with or without a prescription. Read the warnings on the package or insert that comes with the drug. Talk to your doctor about if and how you should use acetaminophen or NSAIDs for your arthritis pain. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has more information about these drugs.

Osteoarthritis (OA). Medicines can help you control the pain. Rest and exercise may make it easier to move your joints. Keeping your weight down is a good idea. If pain from OA is very bad, there are shots your doctor can give you.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Treatment can help the pain and swelling. This might slow down or stop joint damage. You may feel better and find it easier to move around. Your doctor might also suggest anti-rheumatic drugs called DMARDs (disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs). These can slow damage from the disease. Other medicines known as corticosteroids (like prednisone) can ease swelling. Another kind of drug, called a biologic response modifier, blocks the damage done by the immune system. These may help people with mild-to-moderate RA when other treatments have not worked.

Gout. The most common treatment for an acute attack of gout is NSAIDs or glucocorticoids like prednisone. They can bring down the swelling, so you may start to feel better within a few hours after treatment. The pain usually goes away within a few days. Glucocorticoids are strong medicines. They should only be taken with a doctor’s prescription. If you have had an attack of gout, talk to your doctor to learn why you had the attack and how to prevent future attacks. If you have had several attacks, your doctor might prescribe medicines to prevent future ones.

Exercise Can Help

Along with taking the right medicine and properly resting your joints, exercise might help with arthritis symptoms. Daily exercise, such as walking or swimming, helps keep joints moving, lessens pain, and makes muscles around the joints stronger.

Three types of exercise are best if you have arthritis:

Range-of-motion exercises, like dancing, might relieve stiffness, keep you flexible, and help you keep moving your joints.
Strengthening exercises, such as weight training, will keep or add to muscle strength. Strong muscles support and protect your joints.
Aerobic or endurance exercises, like bicycle riding, make your heart and arteries healthier, help prevent weight gain, and also may lessen swelling in some joints.

The National Institute on Aging (NIA) has a free booklet on how to start and stick with a safe exercise program. See the last panel of this AgePage for more information.

Other Things To Do

Along with exercise and weight control, there are other ways to ease the pain around joints. You might find comfort by using a heating pad or a cold pack, soaking in a warm bath, or swimming in a heated pool.

Your doctor may suggest surgery when damage to your joints becomes disabling or when other treatments do not help with pain. Surgeons can repair or replace some joints with artificial (man-made) ones.

Other Remedies

Recent studies suggest that acupuncture may ease OA pain for some people. Research also shows that two dietary supplements, glucosamine and chondroitin, may help lessen moderate to severe OA pain, but they seem to have no effect on changes to cartilage in the knee. Scientists continue to study these kinds of alternative treatments. Always check with your doctor before trying any new treatment for arthritis.

Many people with arthritis try remedies that have not been tested or proven helpful. Some of these, such as snake venom, are harmful. Others, such as copper bracelets, are harmless, but also unproven.

How can you tell that a remedy may be unproven?

The remedy claims that a treatment, like a lotion or cream, works for all types of arthritis and other diseases.
Scientific support comes from only one research study.
The label has no directions for use or warning about side effects.
The person recommending the treatment profits directly from your purchase of the medicine.
People who are now completely well are presented to you as having the same problems you have (this is called anecdotal evidence).

Talk To Your Doctor

Pain and arthritis do not have to be part of growing older. You can work with your doctor to safely lessen the pain and stiffness and to prevent more serious damage to your joints.

Reference: National Institute on Aging.

http://www.nia.nih.gov

Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act 2007 –Tardy Status of Implementation in States

2010-08-03T21:56:00.000-07:00

The Act was passed towards the end of 2007. The Central Government recommended that it be adopted and implemented by every state and Union teritory. Out of 35 States / UTs, as Himachal Pradesh has its own act (better than the Central Act), HP is not taken into account. It is not applicable to J&K. Out of the rest of 33 States / UTs four states have not bothered even notify it as acceptable for action. These are: Bihar,Madhya Pradesh, Sikkim and Uttar Pradesh. After notification in the State Gazette, there are four important steps to be taken. These are: a) Framing Rules under the act b) Notifying / Appointing Maintenance Officers c)Notifying / Appointing Maintenance Tribunal and d) Setting up Appelatte Tribunal. Without these crucial steps in place the act is toothless in any state.
Let us look at the Table taken from MOSJE Annual Report for 2009-10. There are some funny things about this table. Four States that are totally blind to Center's plea about this act have not been included. While the data about status as of Feb 2010 is given for 29 states, the Serial Number shows 30 as the numbering is faulty. And the data does not depict true picture.
While the Table says that thirteen states have fully complied with the requirements, we read news items as late as June 2010 that Gujarat and Tamilnadu are yet to appoint Maintenance officers, appellate tribunal etc. Ground reality is different. 15 out of 33 States have not even notified rules – it is as good as doing nothing about the act. It is only around June 2010, on account of Elder Abuse Awareness Day and media pressure, that some states sporadically try to do something. Pressure from Senior Citizens Associations and Sttate and National level federations count nothing with the rulers. One example is Maharashtra where AISCCON, FESCOM and local NGOs like Silver Innings, Dignity & Harmony have been shouting from roof tops – the government is silent as rock.
In Andhra Pradesh draft rules have remained in file, never notified, despite consistent pressure and follow up by FAPSCO and APSCCON. One redeeming factor about AP is that despite absence of rules , the Collector of West Godhavari District has treated the Act as self contained wholesome act ( with rules) and has gone ahead listening to and passing orders under this act – helping senior citizens all the way. As many as 15 cases have been settled which only goes to bust the myth the senior citizens won't go to court against their own children. Hundreds are waiting for leagal avenues to redress their sufferings. Similarly, In Tamilnadu, the police, though they can not directly intefere in cases of Elder abuse under this act, have opted to be sympathetic to senior citizens in tackling offenders out of the way. Not all states are lucky.
Therefore it is impretive that all states and UTs take necessary steps imediately to implement theAct in right spirit, not just on paper. This requires pressure from center, that is MOSJE should do its part. As they are not doing, Senior citizens are showing their dissatisfaction by observing Senior Citizens National Protest Day on 16th August 2010. Joins us in full strength for your own benefit.

Posted By Dr P Vyasamoorthy, 30 Gruhalakshmi Colony Secunderabad 500015 Ph 040-27846631 / 9490804278. My blog: http://vyasa-kaaranam-ketkadey.blogspot.com/

Old Age Pension: Several States need to wake up

2010-08-03T21:53:00.000-07:00

The Government of India instituted Old age pension to destitute older persons several years ago. The pension amount was raised from Rs 75 per month to Rs 200 couple of years ago. Under the latest scheme called India Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme (IGNOPS) any senior citizens above 65 in BPL category is eligible for a pension of Rs 200 pm from GOI contribution. The center has recommended that each state may supplement this with a minimum of Rs 200 per month from its own resources.
The scheme envisages the payment to be made through post offices or banks to filter out middlemen. It also stipulates that both husband and wife are eligible if they are above 65. Earlier clause that the recipient must be a destitute was withdrawn. With Rs 400 a month, at the present inflationary rates of food items, a senior citizen can just afford to buy half a liter of milk per day and nothing else. It is a pity that in as many as 17 states and UTs even this minimum recommendation of Rs 400 is not complied with. Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Orissa, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur and Daman & Diu pay nothing more than center's contribution of Rs 200. Supplementary payment, out of State resources, ranging from Rs 50 to 150, is made by 11 states: Himachal Pradesh, J&K, Chattisgarh, Nagaland, Lakshdweep, Kerala, Assam, Megalaya, Mizoram, Madya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.
As many as 9 states – Gujarat, Jharkand, Karnataka,Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Sikkim, Tripura, Tamilnadu and West Bengal are contented with meeting the bare recommended minimum of Rs4oo, thus contributing Rs 200 from their own resources. Older persons in rest of the 9 states are lucky in getting more than 400 – luckiest being Goa and Delhi where OAP is Rs 1000 per month.
What it all boils down to is that nearly 50% of states are paying far less than 400 for older persons 65+. In terms of number persons denied even this barest minimum of Rs 400 works out to 2.1 crores. As I know of the situation in AP let me give some startling facts: When old couple, both are above 65, the husband is give; the wife is denied. The amount is given through political local leaders who pick and choose who should be given (registered) for OAP. A sample survey conducted in two villages showed many anomalies such as: ineligible persons being included; recipients had to pay a bribe to get registered and a commission even on monthly payments on a regular basis; non existing names were included for OAP etc.
The Andhra Pradesh Government justifies its stand by claiming to pay Rs 200 to about 46 lakhs of elders. While the national average of BPL category is around 38% of the population, AP says about 80% are under BPL. Indiscriminate issue (sale of, would be more appropriate) of White Ration Cards for BPL to curry the favors of public and voters has landed the state into an irrecoverable mess. Our repeated pleas to rectify the situation and to ensure that all truly eligible senior citizens get Rs 400 per month have fallen on deaf ears.
This is one of the main reasons triggering senior citizens from all over India joining together to observe a protest day at national level on 16th August 2010. Let us hope that our rulers wake up and listen.

Posted By Dr P Vyasamoorthy, 30 Gruhalakshmi Colony Secunderabad 500015 Ph 040-27846631 / 9490804278. My blog: http://vyasa-kaaranam-ketkadey.blogspot.com/

Ageing Parliamentarians are apathetic towards Senior Citizens

2010-08-03T03:26:00.000-07:00

Senior Citizens in India have been consistently getting neglected by Central and State Governments for a number of decades. To cite just a few issues of neglect:

63 years have passed and we still do not have social or health security

· 11 years have passed and National Policy on Older Persons (NPOP) has not been implemented by a single State
· 3 years have passed since enacting the Maintenance of Parents and Senior Citizens Act (MWPSC Act). This has become somewhat operational only in 8 out of 35 States/UT's; Four states have not even notified it!
· More than 50% BPL Senior Citizens[65+] either do not get any Old Age Pension or are paid much less than the stipulated minimum

Senior Citizens Associations, State and National level Federations and Confederations have been tirelessly taking it up with those occupying seats of power, but with no success.

Look at our parliamentarians in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. Lok Sabha has 543 members out of whom nearly 50% are above 60 – senior citizens by them selves. Similar is the case in Rajya Sabha. We have 243 members where a whopping 183 (75%) are senior citizens. However these elitist politicians show lip sympathy when approached and do nothing to help senior citizens cause. I sent an email appeal to all parliamentarians above 60 years old seeking their support. But nearly fifty percent of emails bounced indicating that they never open their mail and allow it to overflow the space allotted. Only one (Sri MS Swaminathan) was kind enough to respond assuring us his support. Another disturbing statistic: all the 780 members put together have asked about 30 questions concerning senior citizens welfare in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha during the last one year.

Spare our politicians. Take up the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment. From the Annual report 2009-10, the total annual budget allotment for MOSJE is Rs 2500 Crores. Out of this budget for disabled & Senior Citizens is 9.3%, that is Rs 232.5 Crores. Expenditure for Senior Citizens amounts to 27 crores Out of these 27 crores, Rural Development ministry has chipped in about 10.6 crores for old age pension. Amount spent for Senior Citizens works out to less than 10% of money spent on Disabled welfare and about 1% of total Ministry's budget.

Now consider segment of the population MOSJE serves: Population: Senior Citizens 60+ --> 7.7 crores out of total 102.9 crores; Disabled --> 2.19 cr out of total India's population of 102.9 cr. Work out for yourself the gross disparity in budget allotment.

How long should senior citizens keep quite and meekly witness the negligence and indifference? You be the judge. If you agree, join the silent protest on Senior Citizens National Protest Day on 16^th August 2010 in your own city, district. For details see: http://scnpd.posterous.com/

DELHI SENIORS CROWDCOURTS TO STAY BUSY

2010-07-20T00:19:00.000-07:00

Over 70 per cent of the elderly in litigation against govt & relatives

AFTER 60, what? This existential question rattles most people who are inching towards retirement age. In Delhi, however, it seems senior citizens have found a novel way to spend time after retirement — head for the courts.

A survey titled ‘ Major Challenges Before Older Persons of Delhi and NCR’, conducted by the Agewell Research and Advocacy Centre, has revealed that more than 70 per cent of senior citizens in the Capital stay busy fighting cases in various courts, commissions and tribunals.

These litigious senior citizens are proud of what they do because they believe they’re fighting for justice. “They say it’s an occupation and it keeps them active,” the survey report says.

The survey was conducted in the first week of July to identify the reasons that push the elderly to the corridors of the courts. As many as 3,000 senior citizens from Delhi, Noida, Gurgaon, Faridabad and Ghaziabad were interviewed for the survey.

Most of the cases filed by the elderly are against the government and its agencies as well as municipal authorities. The next big targets are banks and financial institutions. Property disputes, neighbours and family members are responsible for the remaining cases.

Legal experts have endorsed the survey findings. Prominent Delhi High Court lawyer Ashok Agarwal says you just have to go to the courts to know that the survey is very much on target. “On any given day, you’ll find a growing number of senior citizens sitting outside courtrooms,” Agarwal says. “This is a mechanism for the elderly to minimise the harassment they face from private companies, government bodies and their own children,” he adds.

Former Delhi High Court judge and president of the Delhi State Consumer Commission, Justice J. D. Kapoor (Retd), confirm the trend. The rise in the number of cases filed by senior citizens is driving up the load on consumer courts. “When the elderly are harassed by members of their families or by private companies, the only option left with them is to knock on the doors of courts,” Kapoor says.

Back in July 2001, the Delhi High Court had directed the subordinate courts to prioritise cases involving senior citizens.
Legal experts, though, insist there are other methods to settle cases filed by senior citizens. “The cases filed by the elderly should be decided using mediation, arbitration and reconciliation. Fasttrack court are the other option,” suggests Priya Hingorani, advocate and former vice- president, Supreme Court Bar Association.

Mathew Cherian, CEO, HelpAge India, points out that the elderly see themselves as soft targets for robberies, fraud, property disputes as well as emotional and physical abuse. “So, as a preventive measure they keep approaching courts,” Cherian says. “They believe that the only way to get things done is by seeking legal help.” Citing the calls the NGO’s helpline gets from the distressed senior citizens, Cherian says most of the callers seem to want their disputes to be settled in courts and not by the local police. “Delhi’s senior citizens have more faith in the judiciary than in the police,” Cherian says.

The reasons cited by the senior citizens for turning litigious make for interesting reading. “A majority of senior citizens are fighting legal cases just to kill time,” the survey report points out.

Nearly 60 per cent of the respondents said they had filed cases to satisfy their ego or because they were just addicted to going to courts.

Supreme Court advocate Aparna Bhat, however, disagrees with this bit of the survey. “Senior citizens get into litigation only as the last resort,” she says. “We can’t say they go to courts to kill time. They must have some genuine reasons, otherwise why should they get engaged in a lengthy legal procedure,” Bhat asks.

Another big motivation, according to the survey, is to gain respect from their children. “They feel if they win in the courts, they would regain the respect of their families and be better looked after by their children,” says Agewell founder Himanshu Rath. Though many senior citizens fight cases for entirely personal reasons, many more knock at the doors of the courts with the intention of doing well to the society. The right to information and the consumer protection acts are their best allies in this effort.

An interesting finding of the survey is that 70 per cent of litigious senior citizens have filed two or more cases in different courts. These elderly litigants agreed that because they had plenty of free time, they could prepare better for legal battles.
“When they were young, they say, they could not fight court cases because of career commitments,” Rath adds, drawing his inference from the survey report.

High- minded senior citizens, clearly, are getting serious about turning the law into a vehicle for social change.

AN OLD CASE
Over 3.1 CRORE cases are pending before various courts of law in India.

In Delhi, the figure hovers at 12 LAKH

A survey by the Agewell Research and Advocacy Centre on elderly litigants reveals that a chunk of these 12 lakh petitioners are senior citizens

Over 55 PER CENT of the aged respondents said they were fighting cases because they had “ plenty of free time”.

Around 57.85 PER CENT of the respondents said they were knocking on courts’ doors just to satisfy their ego or because they were “ addicted” to fighting cases

Over 72.5 PER CENT elderly said they file cases only to “ get respect” from their children

SIXTY- THREE PER CENT litigants said fighting cases was an “ occupation” which keeps them active
Around 50.3 PER CENT elderly said they filed cases after they turned 60

Source: The Mail Today

19/7/2010

India worst in end-of-life care

2010-07-19T02:12:00.000-07:00

Stands Even Below Uganda; UK Found To Have Best Services: Study

TIMES INSIGHT GROUP

India doesn’t just have a poor quality of life, as reflected in its poor human development index (HDI), it also has a particularly poor ‘quality of death’. That’s the depressing message from a new index developed by the Economist Intelligence Unit to measure end-of-life care services in 40 countries.

India finishes at the bottom of the list, which includes 30 OECD nations and 10 developing countries for which data was available. While finishing below the developed world may come as no surprise, what’s revealing is that even Uganda is a notch above India.

The UK was found to have the best end-of-life care (despite a far from perfect healthcare system), followed by Australia and New Zealand. The countries that fared the worst in the Quality of Death Index released on Thursday included countries such as India, Uganda, Brazil and China in that order from the bottom.

The report noted that these countries fared badly as progress on providing end-oflife care was slow despite notable exceptions of excellence such as the state of Kerala in India and the services delivered through Hospice Africa in Uganda. In Asia, Taiwan (14), Singapore (18) and Hong Kong (20) were ranked much higher than Japan (23), where over a fifth of the population is over 60 years.

The study noted that many rich nations lagged in the overall score, including Denmark (22), Italy (24) and South Korea (32). The US and Canada were ranked at 9th place in the list, while many countries known to have excellent health systems scored poorly including France (12), Norway (13), Sweden (16), Switzerland (19) and Iceland (25). According to the Worldwide Palliative Care Alliance, while more than 100 million patients and family care-givers worldwide needed palliative care annually, less than 8% of them actually received it.

Experts on end-of-life care identified access to drugs, especially the availability of opioids to manage pain, and availability of carers as the most important practical issues. They also pointed out that state funded end-of-life care tended to prioritise conventional treatment over palliative care. Even well funded health systems relied mostly on charities and philanthropic bodies to offer care to patients, noted the experts.

“In many nations, standards of end-of-life care suffer from inadequate policy, high costs, cultural barriers and poor access to painkillers. Too many people, even in countries that have excellent healthcare systems, suffer a poor quality of death — even when death comes naturally. This is despite the fact that in many of these countries, increasing longevity and ageing populations mean demand for end-of-life care is likely to rise sharply,” observed the study.

Source: The Times of India
16/7/2010

Technology for the Elderly Maturing

2010-06-27T22:06:00.000-07:00

By Karlin Lillington, The Irish Times
March 12, 2010

Ireland

When it comes to the business of ageing and the technologies that will change how a greying world population is cared for and managed, Ireland has particular opportunities on which it should capitalise.

Speakers at a Business of Ageing conference in Dublin last week noted that several Irish companies were leading developments in related areas. They were also confident that the country could become a focal point for research and pilot schemes involving new technologies in the field of ageing.

When it comes to looking towards a better-managed future for an ageing population,“technology plays a major role, particularly in ambient assisted living”, according to Dublin City University computer science lecturer Brian McGrath, who chaired a session on technology and ageing.

“Ireland has a particularly strong opportunity to do something of global significance . . . It might be the ideal place in the world to develop technologies in this area,” he said.

Peter Nelson, chief executive of Valentia Technologies, said: “The elephant in the room is the demographic time bomb that’s coming at us.”

Some 28 per cent of the population will be over 60 by 2030 and more than 45 per cent by 2050, he noted. This would lead to a shortage of qualified healthcare professionals and healthcare costs rising rapidly and becoming unsustainable.

To continue with our current healthcare model for elderly care, we would have to start building hospitals and care facilities for this older population rapidly, said Nelson.

“But there aren’t enough doctors and nurses to work in these hospitals, even if they were built. The whole solution is to treat them in the community,” he said. “We have to start managing people at home.”

Interestingly, developing countries are deploying technologies and services in a way that developed countries would find difficult to achieve, according to Nelson.

But resources are needed to manage the data onslaught that such services would generate. “We will need command and control centres with a significant back end to deploy resources.”

Using sensors in a variety of applications could transform home care and independent living, argued Gary Carroll of sensor technology company EpiSensor.

Mesh networks of multiple sensors could monitor energy (heating, cooling, lighting), respond to ambient conditions, and monitor occupancy and movement as well as giving automatic meter readings.

These technologies “can be brought together” to give a remote overview of activity within the home, Carroll said, which in turn could enable older people to maintain an independent lifestyle for longer.

As an example of how sensors might work to monitor the safety and activity of an elderly person, he said a sensor could monitor appliances within the home.

“If you can monitor appliances, you pretty much know what’s going on in the home,” he said. For example, if a kettle is turned on in the morning, it indicates the resident is awake and active.

Carroll said Ireland could be a potential test market for such technologies. “If it works in Ireland, it will work anywhere.”

Intel Ireland’s Technology Research for Independent Living (Tril) Centre is doing a few such trials. Tril was set up in 2007 to research technologies to assist the ageing, with one current project at St James’s Hospital involving 600 patients and others enabling older people to test new devices.

Tril’s initial focus has been on fall prevention, cognitive functions and social connection.

“We need new models of care that enable people to live longer in their own homes, with more acute care coming out of centres in the community and in the home,” said Tril academic director Brian Caulfield.

This requires a multidisciplinary approach that goes well beyond having technologists build new devices. “We can’t do it just by having technologies,” he said. “They’ll develop wonderful technologies, but not technologies that are necessarily useful.”

Hence, he said: “If you can think of a discipline, you name it and we’ve got it at Tril.”

Ethnography specialists are particularly helpful. “Our ethnography research unit enables Tril to understand the needs of the older person and allows their voices to be heard.”

In the case of falls, Tril uses sensors to assess gait and predict when individuals are heading towards problems that could result in falls, ideally letting physicians address a problem before a fall occurs.

Sensors are an inexpensive solution compared to the motion-capture technologies used previously, Caulfield said.

In the area of cognitive assessment, Tril is working on simple technologies that analyse how a person is putting words into sentences. Older people can dial in to use a simple phone assessment program, for example.

In social networking, Intel has developed a phone-based device that enables people to make calls, manage contacts, send e-mails and chat with friends in a chat room (called a “tea room” by choice of the older people who helped in its development).

If this is the future of ageing, how close are we to achieving such technology-driven lifestyle and care approaches? “All the building blocks are there, but it is commissioning all these types of services,” said Nelson.

“There are a lot of challenges in deploying these technologies for the first time. How to connect them up, for example? It’s a national dialogue, really. Pilot programmes are needed that will lead to a national implementation.”

All the speakers felt Ireland could contribute, and even lead, in certain areas of this technological transformation of ageing.

EpiSensor’s Carroll said he believed that if Ireland led with a pilot scheme that connected 1,000 homes to a range of these new technologies and services, it could raise our international profile in the area. “It would get Ireland noticed,” he said.

Government-led purchasing of some of the products provided by Irish companies would also be a positive step. Ireland has “unique characteristics” that could make it “a very competitive place” in the area of the business of ageing, Carroll added.

“Ireland is the perfect place to become a test bed for technology,” said Tril’s Caulfield.

Valentia’s Nelson concluded: “I think we have all the right ingredients.”

http://www.globalaging.org/elderrights/worl /2010/technology%20for%20aging.htm

REPORT ON ELDER ABUSE IN INDIA ( HELPAGE INDIA)

2010-06-27T21:53:00.000-07:00

As a result of the current ageing scenario, there is need for all aspects of care for the older persons namely, social, economic, health and shelter. In line with the living arrangements and the needs of elderly, security and abuse of older persons are also emerging as issues of greater concern in India. With this background, HelpAge India felt the need to understand the issue of elder abuse, its nature and extent of prevalence across cities, perceptions of the elderly and other stakeholders. The present study having both quantitative and qualitative components was carried out by HelpAge India and Sigma, based on which the report has been prepared. The fieldwork for the quantitative component of the study was carried out by HelpAge India, while Sigma was engaged by HelpAge India to design the study and carry out
the In Depth Interviews.

The present study aims at identifying the symptoms of elder abuse and finding out its
existence and reasons for the same. The quantitative study covered the elderly in the age group of 60+ years across 8 cities viz. Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Kolkata, Bhopal, Chennai, Patna and Hyderabad with a sample size of 100 per city.

For the qualitative part, In Depth Interviews (IDI) among legal experts, members of Senior Citizen’s Association, Police Officers, medical experts, Social Welfare Officer, Community Based Organizations (CBOs), Corporate and Individual Donors, and Psychologists were carried out by Sigma. In all, 57 IDIs with various target groups were carried out.

The SALIENT FINDINGS of the study are presented below:

1. The mean age of the elderly across the cities is 68 years. More than half of the elderly in Kolkata (54%) are of 70+ years.
2. Three fourth (74%) of the elderly are currently married, while one fifth (23%) are
divorced.
3. The mean number of children the elderly have is 3, with 2 sons and 1 daughter in all cities except Hyderabad, Kolkata and Patna where it is 4.
4. Half of the elderly stay with son, while one fourth (27%) stay with spouse. One tenth (10%) of the elderly are living alone and their children come to visit them.
5. Four fifth (82%) of the elderly are literates with one fifth (19%) and one tenth (13%) being Graduates and Post Graduates respectively. Close to one fifth (18%) of the elderly are illiterate.
6. Proportion of illiterate is highest in Kolkata (42%) and lowest in Patna (3%).
7. As regards the last main occupation, 26% of the elderly were homemakers, while 19% were working as unskilled workers.
8. One fifth of the elderly are currently engaged in economic activity.
9. More than two fifth (45%) of the elderly currently economically active are self
employed/ professionals. Nearly one fifth of the elderly are shop owners.
10. The average monthly household income of the elderly is Rs. 12045. About three fifth (59%) of the elderly have a monthly household income of less than Rs 10,000.
11. More than two fifth (45%) of the elderly have pension as the main source of income and one fifth get income from interest on savings and fixed deposits.
12. Half (51%) of the elderly own property and this is highest in Delhi (68%) and Patna (68%) and lowest in Hyderabad (28%) and Kolkata (36%).
13. Close to three fourth (73%) of the elderly are living in their own house while 18% are living in a rented place.
14. More than two fifth (46%) of the elderly are financially dependent on others, with
highest being reported in Chennai (63%) and Kolkata (61%).
15. More than half (57%) of the elderly are financially dependent on their son and around one fourth are dependent on their spouse.
16. More than two fifth (44%) of the elderly consider negligence as elder abuse.
17. More than one third each of the elderly feel that elder abuse constitutes emotional
abuse (39%), verbal abuse (37%), economic abuse (35%), showing disrespect (34%)
and physical abuse (34%).
18. About one third (35%) of the elderly feel neglected with 21% of the elderly in the age group of 60-69 years feeling so.
19. Half (51%) of the elderly feel neglected sometimes while 40% feel neglected
everyday.
20. Feeling of being neglected stems from the family related factors such as family
members not spending time and not interacting.
21. More than two fifth (46%) of the elderly reported that the family members are busy with their own work/lives and thus neglect them.
22. More than one third (36%) of the elderly have experienced any type of abuse with this being reported highest in Bhopal (79%) followed by Chennai (59%) and Kolkata
(44%).
23. The elderly faced various types of abuse with showing disrespect being the most
common form of abuse followed by verbal abuse, neglect, economic abuse and
emotional abuse.
24. Abuse in terms of showing disrespect was reported more in Chennai (71%) and
Kolkata (54%).
25. Verbal abuse was reported more in Mumbai (79%), Ahmedabad (57%) and Kolkata (53%).
26. Emotional abuse was reported more in Delhi (62%) and Kolkata (54%).
27. Physical abuse was reported more in Kolkata (23%), Hyderabad (22%), Mumbai
(21%) and Ahmedabad (20%).
28. Abuse is reported more from the family members, with son and daughter in law
emerging as the major abusers.
29. Abuse by son was reported most in Bhopal (70%) followed by Patna (57%), and
Kolkata (54%).
30. Abuse by domestic help was reported more in Delhi (19%) and Ahmedabad (13%).
31. One third (35%) of the elderly faced abuse due to property issues.
32. Nearly one third each of the elderly reported facing abuse because of lack of
emotional support (30%) and lack of basic necessities (29%).
33. Half (53%) of the elderly did not take any action when they faced abuse. This is
reported highest in Chennai (80%), Bhopal (69%) and Ahmedabad (62%).
34. Most (92%) of the elderly did not register any complaint against the abuser.
35. Among the elderly who registered complaint, 33% reported that nothing concrete
came out of it, while 27% reported about the police carried out home visit, as a result
of the complaint.
36. Nearly half of the elderly (48%) are willing to take concrete action against abuse in
future.
37. Unwillingness to take any action against abuse stems from the perception among the elderly that - ‘nothing concrete will happen’ if any action is taken, followed by a
sense of shame in the community and fear of further abuse.
38. Awareness about laws, policies and programmes against elder abuse is low among the elderly.
39. One third (33%) of the elderly are aware of existing laws and programmes against
elder abuse.
40. Among the Elderly who are aware of the laws, policies and programmes, majority
(88%) are aware of the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizen’s Act,
(56%) of the elderly are aware of the National Policy on Older Persons, (67%) are
aware of the Protection for Women against Domestic Violence Act.
41. Awareness of the law enforcing agencies is low as only one fifth of the elderly (18%) are aware of these.
42. Close to two fifth (38%) of the elderly perceive the role of police and lawyers as non supportive in tackling abuse.
43. One fourth of the elderly (26%) did not know about the role of the law enforcing
agencies in controlling elder abuse.
44. More than one fourth (27%) of the elderly are of the view that the Police is not
equipped to handle cases of elder abuse.
45. The major measures to be taken up by the law enforcing agencies suggested by the elderly include ‘giving protection’ and ‘carrying out home visits’.
46. It was also suggested that the Police should assist the elderly in getting maintenance from the children under the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizen’s Act.
47. ‘Having steady cash flow’, ‘making adjustments within family’ and ‘having own
property to reduce economic dependency’ are the major measures suggested by the
elderly to control elder abuse.

Delhi tops in caring for its elderly

2010-06-21T20:58:00.000-07:00

Delhi tops in caring for its elderly

Survey Reveals Senior Citizens In City Face Least Abuse, 68% Own Property
Rumu Banerjee TNN

New Delhi: Delhi may have a reputation as a city without a heart but a recent survey by an NGO shows that it is also the place where elderly face least abuse. The survey, carried out across various metropolitan cities in the country, found Delhi has the least percentage of elderly abuse reported — 15.4%. In comparison, in Bhopal 79.3% respondents faced some form of abuse while in Kolkata 22.8% reported physical abuse.

The survey, carried out in Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore, Bhopal, Patna, Kolkata and Hyderabad, polled senior citizens above the age of 60 years. The findings thrown up are interesting, especially in the backdrop of Delhi’s alarming trend of crimes against senior citizens. And while the survey, done by HelpAge India underlined the need for a better support system for the elderly in the country — a shocking 92% said they had not registered a complaint against the abuser — it brings some good cheer for the capital which has been in the news for some petty crimes against the old people in the past year.

The capital also have the highest number of elderly owning property in the country (68.3%), with 62% deriving their main source of income from pension.

The survey found that 19% of abuse victims faced it from their domestic help. But the maximum abuse was inflicted by their own children, with 53.6% admitting they had faced some form of abuse from their son. As usual, the main context of abuse was property (35.4%) followed by lack of emotional support (30.2%).

The bad news is that a large number of elderly seem unaware of existing laws to protect them, with only one third of the elderly (33%) being aware. For Delhi though, there’s a silver lining, as the HelpAge survey revealed that the awareness of laws and programmes is highest in Delhi (53.8%) followed by Mumbai (44.7%) and Kolkata (40.3%). The awareness level is lowest in Bhopal (8%).

The survey by HelpAge brings home the need to not only widen the scope of policing in curbing elderly abuse but also spread awareness about the laws. Said Sonali Sharma of HelpAge, ‘‘Awareness about the issues is the first step in tackling the problem.’’ The National Crime Records Bureau 2008 had shown Delhi had the maximum number of crimes against the elderly (15%).

Source:http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Daily/skins/TOINEW/navigator.asp?Daily=CAP&showST=true&login=default&pub=TOI

Travel Tips for Senior Citizens

2010-05-25T00:32:00.000-07:00

If You Are a Senior Citizen Looking to Plan a Trip, Take a Look at This Tip

Find the Right Company:

There are several travel companies that specialize in providing services to senior citizens. If you aren't a travel aficionado and you are looking to travel to someplace that you are very unfamiliar with, you should absolutely look for a company that is experienced at providing travel services to the seniors. Travel agents and companies that are not seasoned with senior travelers' needs will not be as well-equipped to prepare you for your vacation so that you can have a safe and memorable trip. Don't worry that companies that are geared towards seniors will offer exclusively boring and unadventurous vacation options - quite the contrary, in fact! If you want a laid back and relaxing vacation, certainly a senior-oriented travel agency will be able to find a trip to satisfy your wishes. However, if you are looking for a more action-packed excursion, these companies will also absolutely be able to deliver. Just be specific with your travel agent as to what you are looking for in a vacation. If there are certain activities that you are particularly interested in indulging in, such as scuba diving or an equestrian trip, make sure that you say so. If you don't feel that the company you are dealing with is up to par, don't hesitate to go to another place or a different agent.

Make it a Group Thing:

Two heads are better than one! It is advisable that senior citizens don't make vacations solo operations. It is better - and far safer - to travel with at least one other person. If you have a group of friends that you think might be interested in joining you on a trip, ask them to come along - the more, the merrier! Family members also make fantastic travel buddies. Another plus to traveling with a group is that you can often find discounted rates from travel companies when you book for multiple travelers.

Do Your Research:

Plan your trip as far in advance as you possibly can so that you have plenty of time to prepare. If you are traveling to a foreign country, you should research the culture and traditions in that nation so that you do not stick out like a sore tourist thumb. You do not want to offend people from a foreign country by engaging in a behavior that is averse to their lifestyles. For example, in some nations, handshakes are not an acceptable greeting. If you are traveling to a non-English speaking nation, you should certainly learn as much as you can of the language before you depart for your trip. Get travel language guides at your local book store or through an online retailer. There are several companies that sell CDs so that you can listen to the language as you learn it. If you have enough time, you might even decide to take a course in the language at your local community college or to hire a tutor to teach you at your home. Don't look at this as work - think of it as the fun lead-up to your big vacation. The more you know about where you are traveling to, the more you will enjoy your experience and get the most out of it.

The Senior Olympics - 2011 National Games

2010-04-22T21:40:00.000-07:00

The National Senior Games Association (NSGA) announced that Houston will host the 2011 Summer National Senior Games—The Senior Olympics—one of the largest recurring multi-sports events in the United States and the largest multi-sport event in the world for seniors.

Approximately 15,000 top male and female senior athletes, ages 50 and older, from across the United States are projected to compete in 18-20 different sports within separate age divisions at venues located throughout the Houston Area during the 16-day event, set tentatively for June 19 – July 5, 2011.

For more information on the 2011 Summer National Senior Games – The Senior Olympics, please call 713-437-5296.

Contact Name: Emily Yates
Contact Phone: (713) 308-5908
Contact Email: eyates@houstonsports.org

Indian Aging Congress – 2010

2010-04-22T21:23:00.000-07:00

A joint VIII^th Annual Conference of Indian Academy of Geriatrics and XV Biennial Conference of Association of Gerontology, India is being organized as INDIAN AGING CONGRESS – 2010 at Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi ( India ) on 12^th, 13^th and 14^th November, 2010.

Address: - Conference Secretariat

Dr. I. S. Gambhir, Organizing Secretary,

Professor & Head,

Room No- 1363 (B), Department of Medicine,

Institute of Medical Sciences,

Banaras Hindu University,

Varanasi – 221005 (India).

E-mail:iac2k10@gmail.com, iac.bhu.2010@gmail.com

Ph. No. 09415255998 (Mob)

Fax No. 0542-230-7520

Web Address: www.bhu.ac.in/IAC/ (for outside BHU users)

http://internet.bhu.ac.in/IAC/ (for BHU users)

Simple Tips to Motivate Yourself to Exercise

2010-04-21T03:54:00.000-07:00

There are a million ways to motivate yourself to exercise, actually, but these are a few that really worked for you.
• Have fun. If you hate running, don’t go to the track for exercise. Find something you like. The only really important thing is to get your body moving and your heart rate up.
• How you feel after a workout. You always feel great after a good workout. It’s a high. And you let that motivate you for the next time.
• Calories burned. If you count calories (and it’s really one of the most effective ways to lose weight), you know that the more you exercise, the more calories you burn — and the bigger your calorie deficit.
• How you’re going to look. Imagine a slimmer, fitter you. Now let that visualization drive you.
• Change it up. Even if you have a routine you enjoy, mix it up from time to time. Try entirely different exercises. You can check out a tape at the library and try yoga or kick boxing for an afternoon. This will not only keep you interested, it will break your muscles out of their routine and help produce better results.
• Get a buddy. Exercising with a friend introduces a positive kind of peer pressure. You will be more likely to go to the gym if you know someone is waiting there for you. Talking and laughing while exercising will also keep you from being bored.
• An exercise log/graph. For some reason, writing it down is extremely important. Really. Do it for a week and you’ll see what I mean?
• Get appropriate clothing. If you don’t have the appropriate clothes for the exercise, it can be irritating, uncomfortable, frustrating, or even unsafe. If you exercise outside after dusk, be sure you have reflective clothing to prevent traffic accidents. Also be sure the clothing looks nice; if you don’t like the way your clothing looks, you may feel uncomfortable, and less likely to exercise.
• Pack Ahead of Time: An iPod, athletic shoes, a towel… whatever. Walking around the house trying to find stuff is a good time to lose your resolve. Put everything together in your gym bag. When you finish working out, take out things that need to be laundered and replace them immediately.
• Have a Goal. What do you want to achieve? Make it specific, make it meaningful, make it obtainable. Be sure to have short-term benchmarks along the way. It’s OK to change your goals if the original plan doesn’t work, but have a goal. Regularly evaluate how you are doing on your goals.
• Success stories. You find the success stories of others incredibly inspirational. If a fitness website has success stories, you’ll almost always read them.
• Reward Yourself. Have a healthy reward when you reach a goal. Buy a new yoga video. Whatever works for you to celebrate in line with your healthy lifestyle!

Senior citizen Help lines in India

2010-04-16T22:30:00.000-07:00

City	Organization	Helpline
Ahmadabad	Age well Foundation	079 2662 0606
Bengaluru	Bangalore City Police & Nightingale Medical Trust	1090
	Dignity Foundation	080 4151 1307 080 4166 1122, 1076
Chandigarh	Chandigarh Police	1090
	DadaDadi.org	9888 9888 47
Chennai	Help age India	1253
	Senior Citizens' Association	044 2621 3908, 3850
	Dignity Foundation	044 2449 3165
Delhi	Help age India	1800 180 1253
	Delhi Police	1291
	Age well Foundations	011 2983 6484, 0484
Hyderabad	Help Age India	1253
	Heritage Trust	040 2339 0000
	Senior Citizens' Association	040 2353 2149
Indore	we care for you	0731 251 0308, 252 2111
Kolkata	Kolkata Police	98300 88884
	Pranam	033 2419 0740
	Dignity Foundation	033 2418 7937, 2429 6048
Mumbai	Mumbai Police	1090
	Help Age India	022 2637 0754, 0740
	Dignity Foundation	022 2389 8078, 8079
Pune	Pune Police	1091
	Aadhar	022 2421 0683
Punjab	- DadaDadi.org	9888 9888 47
Nagpur	police Senior Citizens Helpline	0712- 2564333

To Increase Longevity, Friends Are More Important Than Family

2010-03-24T22:29:00.000-07:00

People with many friends tend to outlive those with few friends
By Sharon O'Brien,

Most of us know from experience that having good friends can make our lives richer, but research now shows that our friends may also increase our longevity. The same isn't true for our relatives.
In a 10-year longevity study of people aged 70 and older, researchers at the Centre for Ageing Studies at Flinders University in Adelaide, Australia concluded that a network of good friends is more likely than close family relationships to increase longevity in older people.
The research report is based on the Australian Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ALSA).

How Was the Longevity Study Conducted?
ALSA, which began in Adelaide in 1992, used a series of interviews with nearly 1,500 older people to assess how much contact they had with their different social networks, including children, relatives, friends, and other confidantes. The group was monitored annually for four years and then less often for a decade.
The researchers also considered how economic, social, environmental and lifestyle factors affected the health and well-being of the seniors in the study. After controlling for those variables, the researchers were able to see the positive effect friendships have on longevity.
What Makes the Longevity Study Significant?
According to Lynn Giles, one of the four researchers who published the report, there is nothing new about evidence showing that social networks increase longevity, but ALSA went a few steps farther.
"What hasn't been done before is to break down which social networks might be most beneficial," Giles said in a statement published on the Flinders University web site.
"It looks as if friends are the most important in terms of survival."

What the Longevity Study Found
Based on results from the study, researchers learned:
• Close relationships with children and relatives had little effect on longevity rates for older people during the 10-year study.
• People with extensive networks of good friends and confidantes outlived those with the fewest friends by 22 percent.
• The positive effects of friendships on longevity continued throughout the decade, regardless of other profound life changes such as the death of a spouse or other close family members.
Giles said that neither the study nor the report suggests that family ties are unimportant to older people, only that they seem to have little effect on survival and longevity.
For example, she pointed out that another study showed that close relationships and frequent contact with family members were the most important factors in helping older seniors avoid disabilities and increase longevity.

Why Are Friendships So Powerful for Longevity?
While the study couldn’t say for certain why close friendships have such a dramatic effect on longevity, the authors of the report speculated that friends may encourage older people to take better care of themselves—by cutting down on smoking and drinking, for example, or seeking medical treatment earlier for symptoms that may indicate serious problems.
Friends may also help seniors get through difficult times in their lives, by offering coping mechanisms and having a positive effect on mood and self-esteem. Giles said the research didn’t distinguish between the effects of new and long-term friendships on longevity.
"The central message is that maintaining a sense of social embeddedness through friends and family appears pretty important for survival,” Giles said, “and it seems that non-kin relationships are particularly important."

Courtesy: http://seniorliving.about.com/od/lifetransitionsaging/a/longevity.htm

Simple Tips to Motivate Yourself to Exercise.

2010-03-19T20:57:00.000-07:00

There are a million ways to motivate yourself to exercise, actually, but these are a few that have worked for Senior citizen.

• Have fun. If you hate running, don’t go to the track for exercise. Find something you like. The list of different kinds of exercises are nearly endless. The only really important thing is to get your body moving and your heart rate up.

• How you feel after a workout. I always feel great after a good workout. It’s a high. And I let that motivate me the next time.

• Calories burned. If you count calories (and it’s really one of the most effective ways to lose weight), you know that the more you exercise, the more calories you burn — and the bigger your calorie deficit.

• How you’re going to look. Imagine a slimmer, fitter you. Now let that visualization drive you.

• Change it up. Even if you have a routine you enjoy, mix it up from time to time. Try entirely different exercises. You can check out a tape at the library and try yoga or kick boxing for an afternoon. This will not only keep you interested, it will break your muscles out of their routine and help produce better results.

• Get a buddy. Exercising with a friend introduces a positive kind of peer pressure. You will be more likely to go to the gym if you know someone is waiting there for you. Talking and laughing while exercising will also keep you from being bored.

• An exercise log/graph. For some reason, writing it down is extremely important. Really. Do it for a week and you’ll see what I mean.

• Get appropriate clothing. If you don’t have the appropriate clothes for the excercise, it can be irritating, uncomfortable, frustrating, or even unsafe. If you exercise outside after dusk, be sure you have reflective clothing to prevent traffic accidents. Also be sure the clothing looks nice; if you don’t like the way your clothing looks, you may feel uncomfortable, and less likely to exercise.

• Pack Ahead of Time: An iPod, athletic shoes, a towel… whatever. Walking around the house trying to find stuff is a good time to lose your resolve. Put everything together in your gym bag. When you finish working out, take out things that need to be laundered and replace them immediately.

• Have a Goal. What do you want to achieve? Make it specific, make it meaningful, make it obtainable. Be sure to have short-term benchmarks along the way. It’s OK to change your goals if the original plan doesn’t work, but have a goal. Regularly evaluate how you are doing on your goals.

• Reward Yourself. Have a healthy reward when you reach a goal. Buy yourself that cute pair of bike shorts. Go for a weekend hiking tri. Soak in the sauna for your “workout” that day. Buy a new yoga video. Whatever works for you to celebrate in line with your healthy lifestyle!

FEELING THEIR AGE

2010-03-14T07:43:00.000-07:00

Loneliness creeps up on Delhi’s elders

Survey by NGO finds 80% of seniors feels isolated; reduced interaction with family is mainly to blame

On the face of it they’re busy and happening at 60: exercise regime, social work, satsang, paying bills, housework and the works. Yet, in a disturbing way, loneliness is increasingly creeping up on the old in Delhi, making them feel isolated. A study on the elderly conducted by NGO Agewell Foundation shows that about 80% of the surveyed Delhi residents in their 60s reported feeling isolated despite an active life. While only 11% of old who live in joint families experience loneliness, in nuclear families, more than 70% feel isolated.

Reduced interaction with family emerges as the greatest factor leading to feeling isolated. Differentiating between emotional and social isolation, the study — conducted in January this year among 10,000 citizens above age 60 in 20 states across all economic strata — found that 44% in cities such as Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata felt both social and emotional isolation. Social isolation stems from a dwindling friends circle, immobility and a feeling of being ignored socially, while emotional isolation results from strained interpersonal relations within family.

Himanshu Rath, founder Agewell explains that at home, younger members are “always bone-tired and too busy” to spend time with the old. “It’s not that there’s no concern. Even where nuclear families do all that needs to be done for the old, life is too hectic and tough for them to give time,” he says.

Additionally, adds Rath, their stagnant incomes and growing costs of living especially in the last two years have led to much self-denial, also resulting in feeling alone, says Rath. “Last two years’ slowdown has hit the old hardest. Interest rates have slipped. Monthly yields are reduced. The pressure’s tremendous,” he says.

Rath gives an example of the stress an average middleclass 65-year-old faces. “With longer life-spans, and given that today, a 65-year-old’s wife will be to 6 to 12 years his junior, the retired man believes he has to secure finances for the wife for at least 20 to 30 years.” With skyrocketing costs especially for medical, conveyance and food, the feeling of helplessness is strong.

There may be better medical facilities today, but they’re expensive. Neighbourhood GPs are a thing of the past, points out Rath, a simple blood test will cost Rs 200 at least. “They cut down on the simple things. A third biscuit can mean Rs 1.50 more. I’m talking upper middle-classes who’ve had a certain lifestyle,” he says. Saving for a rainy day, the old are cutting down on socializing also to avoid expenditure. Understandably, loneliness among elderly in Delhi increases with age.

Further, in cities many oldies, says 81-year-old Carol H. Barbosa, have had to financially pitch in to help children who have suffered setbacks and job losses due to recession. “They encash FDs, send money. The financial pressure has grown. It takes a toll, it’s like a physical and mental breakdown,” says Barbosa, who lives by herself in a South Delhi apartment complex that houses several retired people.

The report, conducted via interviews in urban and rural randomly selected districts found that at nationally, 87% of those in their 70s reported loneliness. Interestingly, rural old reported lesser levels of loneliness at 78% than urban ones (90%). At 97%, the loneliest were individual elderly who lived by themselves.

Source:Times of India

Budget has same benefits for senior citizens

2010-03-08T02:35:00.000-08:00

Mumbai: For senior citizens, the finance minister has continued to allow deduction of up to Rs20,000 against their taxable income for the premium paid. Senior citizens or retired people with an income of Rs1.60 lakh-5 lakh stand to gain as they save Rs20,600 a year, compared to the same slab last year. Those earning Rs5 lakh-Rs8 lakh stand to save around Rs41,000, and for Rs8 lakh and above they will save Rs51,500.

Dinshaw Irani, 66 years, said, “The budget benefits the middle-income group in some ways. A senior citizen will have a little more money in hand to spend, as compared to last year. We were expecting total exemption on income tax, but that is not possible as many senior citizens are rich.”

Ashok Ravat, 70, said, “Because of inflation the prices of medicine and domestic help are going up. Senior citizens earning less than Rs 5 lakh per annum have got more relief.”

Nagesh Kini, 66, said, “They are giving a premium limit of up to Rs 20,000 for mediclaim. There should not be any limit for senior citizens’ medical premium.”

Sources: http://www.dnaindia.com/money/report_budget-has-same-benefits-for-senior-citizens_1353132

Depression in the Elderly

2010-02-24T20:04:00.000-08:00

Depression in the elderly is very common, although it is not a normal part of aging. Late-life depression affects about 6 million Americans age 65 and older, but only 10% receive treatment for depression. This is likely because the symptoms of depression in the elderly are often confused with the effects of multiple illnesses and the medicines used to treat them.

How Does Depression in the Elderly Differ from Depression in Younger People?

Depression in later life frequently coexists with other medical illnesses and disabilities. In addition, advancing age is often accompanied by loss of key social support systems due to the death of a spouse or siblings, retirement and/or relocation of residence. Because of their change in circumstances and the fact that they're expected to slow down, doctors and family may miss the diagnosis of depression in elderly people, delaying effective treatment. As a result, many seniors find themselves having to cope with symptoms that could otherwise be easily treated.

Depression tends to last longer in elderly adults. It also doubles their risk to develop cardiac diseases and increases their risk of death from illness, while reducing their ability to rehabilitate. Studies of nursing home patients with physical illnesses have shown that the presence of depression substantially increased the likelihood of death from those illnesses. Depression also has been associated with increased risk of death following a heart attack. For that reason, making sure that an elderly person you are concerned about is evaluated and treated is important, even if the depression is mild.

Depression in the elderly is more likely to lead to suicide. The risk of suicide is a serious concern among elderly patients with depression. Elderly white men are at greatest risk, with suicide rates in people ages 80 to 84 more than twice that of the general population. The National Institute of Mental Health considers depression in people age 65 and older to be a major public health problem.

What are the Risk Factors for Depression in the Elderly?

Factors that increase the risk of depression in the elderly include: Being female, unmarried (especially if widowed), stressful life events, and lack of a supportive social network. Having physical conditions like stroke, hypertension, atrial fibrillation, diabetes, cancer and dementia further increases that risk. While depression may be an effect of certain health problems, it can also increase a person's risk of developing other illnesses—primarily those affecting the immune system, like infections.

The following risk factors for depression are often seen in the elderly:

• Certain medicines or combination of medicines
• Other illnesses
• Living alone, social isolation
• Recent bereavement
• Presence of chronic or severe pain
• Damage to body image (from amputation, cancer surgery, or heart attack)
• Fear of death
• Previous history of depression
• Family history of major depressive disorder
• Past suicide attempt(s)
• Substance abuse

Persons who develop their first depression in old age are very likely to have very small abnormal areas seen on head imagery that indicate tiny spots in the brain that may not be receiving adequate blood flow. Consequent chemical changes in these cells may enhance the likelihood of depression, apart from any life stress.

What Other Problems Affect Treatment of Depression in the Elderly?

The stigma attached to mental illness and psychiatric treatment is even more powerful among the elderly and is often shared by members of the patient's family, friends, and neighbors. This stigma can keep elderly patients from seeking treatment. In addition, depressed older people may not report their depression because they believe there is no hope for help.

Elderly people may also not be willing to take their medicines because of side effects or cost. In addition, having certain other illnesses at the same time as depression can interfere with the effectiveness of antidepressant medicines.

Alcoholism and abuse of other substances may interfere with effective treatment, and unhappy life events—including the death of family or friends, poverty, and isolation—may also affect the patient's motivation to continue with treatment.

Source: http://www.medicinenet.com/depression_in_the_elderly/article.htm

New Computer Technologies Help Elderly People Stay Independent

2010-02-22T02:24:00.000-08:00

Thanks to a wide array of new computer technologies, the quality of life is improving for millions of seniors in the United States, without them having to give up their independence.

According to the Family Caregiver Alliance, based in San Francisco, there are an estimated 22.4 million households involved in giving care to people age 50 and older. These baby boomers, most of whom balance the schedules of two working parents with raising kids, are stressed to the maximum and appreciate any assistance they can find to help them take care of their parents and improve the quality of life for everyone. Computer technology companies see an opportunity to help them do just that, while taking the strain off the nation’s limited, expensive long-term care resources. The strain on long-term care services for the elderly is a global problem. From 1900 to 1997, the number of elderly people in the U.S. increased from 3.1 million to 34.1 million—an eleven-fold increase—while the total population only tripled. And projections show that the elderly populations of the U.S. will more than double to about 79 million by 2050, according to the Population Resource Center. Within the next few years, 50% of the European Union's population will be over 65, and in Italy, retirees will outnumber active workers by 2030.

Companies such as ADT, Honeywell, General Electric, Intel, and Phillips Medical Systems are actively pursuing the demographic of middle-aged people concerned about helping their parents ease into their twilight years with less guilt and more peace of mind than they would have if they moved their parents to assisted-living facilities. They are developing a variety of computerized systems for seniors, and such technology is an answered prayer for many people. One such solution is the ADT Quietcare system, a home-monitoring system that employs motion and temperature detectors to record the daily activity of seniors living on their own. Twelve times a day, the Quietcare system updates the status of the monitored individual into a central monitoring site, where loved ones can check up on them via the Internet and respond if anything goes awry. According to Nancy Chisholm, western regional Vice President of ADT, "I think (the technology) has tremendous potential. With the rising cost of health care, this really is a cost-effective solution for adult caretakers."

ADT’s system was first used by living Independently, Inc., in New York, for the nursing home industry. It was introduced to the consumer market by ADT just a few months ago. The monitoring system works in conjunction with a computerized pendant worn around a person’s neck to alert caregivers of a problem. The system costs about $299 to activate, and a $90 monthly fee pays for the monitoring. Five sensors, each about the size of a small cell phone, are installed in a home—in the individual’s bathroom, outside the bathroom, outside the bedroom, on the refrigerator door, and near the medicine cabinet. Another sensor monitors room temperature throughout the house. The sensors use wireless technology to send information to a base station near the telephone, and the information is transmitted over the phone line to Living Independently. After a baseline of normal behavior is developed, the computers in the monitoring center can chart daily activities such as a client’s ordinary waking time, number of kitchen visits, and time spent in the bathroom.

After the first week, the system can issue an alert if there is any change in the pattern that may indicate a problem. For example, if a senior fails to visit the medicine cabinet during the day, or goes to the bathroom and doesn’t come out within an hour, an alert will be activated through ADT’s customer service center. In response to the alert, an ADT representative calls the home to check on the client, and if necessary, then calls the family and finally emergency medical services. It may seem like this kind of close monitoring is an invasion of privacy, but according to Mark Cross, team manager for Quietcare Plus, people are usually happy to hear from them. "The customer has a sense of not being alone—that's the feedback we get. But it can be challenging at times," he added. "Every single alarm we get can be a medical emergency. Thirty percent of them are." One surprising advantage to the close monitoring is that it gives family members more things to talk about when they share the caregiving responsibilities.

ADT isn't the only company developing technology to keep seniors out of nursing homes. The Rhode Island School of Design, EDS, and MIT are working together to develop Pill Pet, which is reminiscent of the virtual Tamagotchi pet of the 1990s that was designed to teach children responsibility. If the owner of the small toy didn’t care for the pet appropriately, they had to suffer the consequences. With the Pill Pet, a fuzzy palm-sized toy animal, if the senior "owner" takes his or her medications regularly and on time, the toy lives. If not, the pet must be taken to a pharmacy for attention. The MIT Media Lab is currently testing the reactions of seniors to see if they like the idea of adopting a computerized pet to let it help them manage their health. Proctor & Gamble is working on a smart personal adviser, invented at MIT, that is a combination of Palm Pilot technology and a medical smart card. When a shopper goes to the grocery store with the personal advisor, he would scan a card containing his medical record into a Palm Pilot and it would record his current health condition. As his groceries are scanned, the adviser would note items that are not recommended for his medical condition, and suggest more appropriate alternative choices.

The system that is perhaps the most scientifically advanced is the Motiva television set-top box, created by Philips Medical System. The box is linked to medical devices and a remote control in the patient’s home to keep daily track of their blood pressure and weight. The information is sent wirelessly through the set-top box to doctors, and patients fill out on-screen questionnaires using a specially designed remote control. Doctors on the receiving end review the information and send out personalized responses to televisions, thereby giving patients daily feedback about their health status. A recent trial by 30 congestive heart failure patients was a resounding success, and both patients and doctors were pleased with the results of the study.

These new products and others in development will help to improve the quality of life for millions of seniors in the United States while allowing them to maintain their independence. With the rapidly expanding pace of computer technology, these new products are probably just the tip of the iceberg.

By: Linda Orlando
Source:http://www.buzzle.com/editorials/

Survey reveals India’s gaping generation gap

2010-02-21T21:31:00.000-08:00

New Delhi: Are your children talking to you? Perhaps not.

Fathers appear to be worse off when it comes to communicating with their children. Only 7% boys and 4% girls aged 15-24 discuss “growing up” issues with their fathers, according to a recently-concluded youth survey.

Mothers were equally bad when it came to their sons, with only 6% boys confiding and “discussing life” with them. In comparison, 77% of girls spoke more freely to their mothers, mostly about issues relating to menstruation. The survey, conducted by the International Institute for Population Sciences and Population Council and endorsed by the Union health ministry, spoke to nearly 51,000 married and unmarried young males and females from six states — Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu.

The survey found that school performance, which is not a sensitive topic, was the most common subject of conversation between children and their parents. In contrast, embarrassing topics, such as romance, relationships and reproduction, were rarely discussed with either parent (only 2% of young men and 6% of young women did so).

When it came to reproductive issues, children were equally secretive with both parents. The findings also suggest that parents controlled their children’s social interaction, particularly if it it involved members of the opposite sex. For example, 69% of young men and 84% of young women expected parental disapproval if theybrought a friend of the opposite sex home. In contrast, just 9% of men and 5% of women reported that their mother and father would be angry if they brought home friends of the same gender.

But there were some differences in perception on this matter. Among young men, for example, 64% of those from Maharashtra and the southern states perceived disapproval from both parents, but 71-80% of those from northern states said the same. For young women it was 74-85% and 82-97% respectively.

Papa Don’t Preach
Just 7% boys and 4% girls aged 15-24 discussed “growing up” issues with their fathers Only 6% boys confided and “discussed life” with their mothers but 77% girls spoke freely particularly about menstruation Embarrassing topics, such as romance and reproduction were rarely discussed with either parent School performance, a topic that isn’t sensitive was the most common subject of discussion Kids prefer relationship talk with peers: Survey

New Delhi: A government endorsed survey conducted by the International Institute for Population Sciences and Population Council found that Indian parents were most likely to disapprove of love marriages for their children, as reported by 84% of young men and 94% of young women.

With regard to perceived parental reactions to a love marriage, state-wise differences were evident for young men, with those from southern states considerably less likely than those from other states to perceive disapproval (67-78% versus 85-94%). Among young women, in contrast, state-wise differences were negligible; over 90% of young women in all the states reported parental disapproval of a love marriage.

Almost all those who were interviewed had an arranged marriage. This led to only 30% of young men and 22% of young women being aware of what to expect from their married life. Friends rather than family were found to be the major confidants for both young men and women. Only 1% men were found to confide in their family members while 85% did so in their friends. In case of women, 20% confided in family and 46% in friends.

Persons with whom youth would most likely discuss personal matters varied considerably by the sex of the respondent and the type of topic. Young women tended to consider their mother as their leading confidante on two matters: those relating to taking a job (38%) and menstrual problems (72%); fewer young women (28%) considered their father in the same role on matters relating to taking a job and hardly did so on menstrual problems. Matters pertaining to boy-girl relationships, in contrast, were rarely confided in parents, the most likely confidants being peers (46%). Patterns among young men were different. As far as non-sensitive issue of taking a job, the leading confidant was their father, cited by 39% of young men.

Courtesy:The Times of India