Sample Proposal for Establishment of Old Age Home

Elderly are an integral part of a population of any country who owe respect and attention equally like any other section. However, due to changing family structure and modernization, elderly population is facing inevitable challenges to live their life respectfully. Loneliness, negligence and less importance, illness due to ageing and against lack of treatment are the most of the treacherous conditions which elderly are facing. Very old people, due to their reduced mobility and debilitating disabilities, need other people to do things for them. With the increasing trend of nuclear families in the society and with fewer children in the family, the care of older persons in the families gets increasingly difficult. Therefore, it is necessary to safeguard the elderly people who are absolutely neglected, ill-treated and vulnerable. It could be addressed by establishing a care giving unit especially for the elderly people that will dedicatedly work on meeting their needs. This proposal is created to establish sustainable transitional living as an option for individuals to maintain independence with the objectives like providing a friendly residential setting within a care home environment to elderly people and a quality a quality of life which enables residents to retain their independence, identity and a sense of value. If you are a non-government organization with aim to provide a quality of life to elderly by building an Old age home for them or if you want funding for your project proposal based on old age care. This sample proposal ‘establishing old age care home’ is designed specially for you.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

INTRODUCTION OF THE PROJECT

The world demography is changing rapidly and soon there will be more old people than children and even more people at extreme old age than in the past. People live longer and population of older people is increasing (WHO, National Institute on Aging 2011). Advancement in medical care, higher standard of living, advanced in technology and low birth rate especially in the developed countries are some of the factors that are fueling the demographic changes.

The ‘Elderly in India 2016’ report by Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation said: The sex ratio among elderly people was as high as 1028 women (per 1,000 males) in 1951, subsequently dropped and again reached up to 1033 in 2011.

The life expectancy at birth during 2009-13 was 69.3 for women as against 65.8 years for men. At the age of 60, average remaining length of life was found to be about 18 years (16.9 for men and 19.0 for women) and that at age 70 was less than 12 years (10.9 for men and 12.3 for women).

The report stated that the old-age dependency ratio climbed from 10.9 per cent in 1961 to 14.2 per cent in 2011 for India as a whole. For females and males, the value of the ratio was 14.9 per cent and 13.6 per cent in 2011.Between rural and urban ratios there has been considerable difference in all the periods and this may be due to relatively higher concentration of working age population in urban areas. (“Number of elderly rises,” 2016)

In India with majority of its population aged less than 30, the problems and issues of its grey population has not been given serious consideration and only a few studies on them have been attempted in our country. To reap the advantage of demographic dividend, the focus is mainly on the children and the youth and fulfillment of their basic needs for proper development. Also the traditional Indian society and the age-old joint family system have been instrumental in safeguarding the social and economic security of the elderly people in the country. However, with the rapid changes in the social scenario and the emerging prevalence of nuclear family set-ups in India in recent years the elderly people are likely to be exposed to emotional, physical and financial insecurity in the years to come. This has drawn the attention of the policy makers and administrators at central and state governments, voluntary organizations and civil society.

Very old people, due to their reduced mobility and debilitating disabilities, need other people to do things for them. With the increasing trend of nuclear families in the society and with fewer children in the family, the care of older persons in the families gets increasingly difficult. Therefore, it is necessary to safeguard the elderly people who are absolutely neglected, ill-treated and vulnerable. It could be addressed by establishing a care giving unit especially for the elderly people that will dedicatedly work on meeting their needs.

XXXX Foundation is looking forward to set up such care giving unit or commonly known as old age homes for 100 elderly people in the year 2018-19. Although XXXX Foundation realizes that an elderly person deserves an attention from their family but looking at the data it is found that the number of neglected elderly people is rapidly increasing and there is a huge need of an intervention to address the problems that are elderly people are facing at the moment.

PROBLEM STATEMENT

Ageing in India is exponentially increasing due to the impressive gains that society has made in terms of increased life expectancy. With the rise in elderly population, the demand for holistic care tends to grow. By 2025, the geriatric population is expected to be 840 million in the developing countries. It is projected that the proportion of Indians aged 60 and older will rise from 7.5% in 2010 to 11.1% in 2025. In 2010, India had more than 91.6 million elderlies and the number of elderly in India is projected to reach 158.7 million. An aging population puts an increased burden on the resources of a country and has raised concerns at many levels for the government in India. The aging population is both medical and sociological problem. The elderly population suffers high rates of morbidity and mortality due to infectious diseases. The demographic transition in India shows unevenness and complexities within different states. This has been attributed to the different levels of socio-economic development, cultural norms, and political contexts. Hence it will be a herculean task for policy makers to address the geriatric care that will take into account all these determinants. Care for the elderly is fast emerging as a critical element of both the public and private concern. (Mane, 2016)

According to US Department of Health, long-term/institutional care is a range of services and supports individuals may need to meet their own care needs. Because of this, they are cared for in long term care institutions, like nursing homes, community care and assisted living, residential care, and long-stay hospitals. It is expected that the population of elderly that will need this type of care will increase as the entire population of older people increases over the years. (ODOH, 2013)

NEED ASSESSMENT

Ageing of the population has brought about concerns on how to keep older people living at home as long as possible. During the ageing process, coping with the situations of everyday life and meeting its demands become even more personal than before. From the old person’s point of view, the decreased functional ability and suffering from various health complaints also means dependency on others for carrying out activities of daily living, which may be more or less hard to live with. There are various problems faced by elderly in India.

Changing Family Structure

The traditional Indian society with an age-old joint family system has been instrumental in safeguarding the social and economic security of the elderly people. The traditional norms and values of Indian society also laid stress on showing respect and providing care for the elderly. However, with the emerging prevalence of nuclear family set-ups in recent years, the elderly are likely to be exposed to emotional, physical and financial insecurity in the years to come. There is an upward trend in the living arrangement pattern of elderly staying alone or with spouse only from 9.0% in 1992 to 18.7% in 2006. Family care of the elderly seems likely to decrease in the future with the economic development of the nation and modernization. (Mane, 2016)

Lack of Social Support

The elderly in India are much more vulnerable because of the less government spending on social security system. The elderly in urban area rely primarily on hired domestic help to meet their basic needs in an increasingly-chaotic and crowded city. Social isolation and loneliness has increased. Insurance cover that is elderly sensitive is virtually non- existent in India. In addition, the preexisting illnesses are usually not covered making insurance policies unviable for the elders. Pension and social security is also restricted to those who have worked in the public sector or the organized sector of industry. In a study by Lena et al. almost half of the respondents felt neglected and sad and felt that people had an indifferent attitude towards the elderly. It was also found that 47% felt unhappy in life and 36.2% felt they were a burden to the family. (Mane, 2016)

Availability, Accessibility and Affordability of Health Care

Due to the ever increasing trend of nuclear families, elder care management is getting more difficult, especially for working adult children who find themselves responsible for their parents’ well-being.

Managing home care for the elderly is a massive challenge as multiple service providers nursing agencies, physiotherapists and medical suppliers are small, unorganized players who extend sub-optimal care. In India, health insurance coverage is essentially limited to hospitalization. The concept of geriatric care has remained a neglected area of medicine in the country. Despite an aging population, geriatric care is relatively new in many developing countries like India with many practicing physicians having little knowledge of the clinical and functional implications of aging. Not many institutes offer the geriatrics course, and even takers are few. Most of the government facilities such as day care centres, old age residential homes, counselling and recreational facilities are urban based. The geriatric outpatient department services are mostly available at tertiary care hospitals. Reaching to 75% of the elderly that reside in rural areas with geriatric care will be challenging. The stigma of aging is another social barrier to access of health in addition to the health and social conditions the elderly commonly face such as dementia, depression, incontinence and widowhood. (Mane, 2016)

Economic Dependency

As per the 52nd round of National Sample Survey Organization, nearly half of the elderly are fully dependent on others, while another 20 percent are partially dependent for their economic needs. About 85% of the aged had to depend on others for their day to day maintenance. The situation is even worse for elderly females. The elders living with their families are largely contingent on the economic capacity of the family unit for their economic security and wellbeing. Elderly often do not have financial protection such as sufficient pension and other form of social security in India. The single most pressing challenge to the welfare of older person is poverty, which is a multiplier of risk for abuse. Also due to their financial dependence, elderly persons though are most vulnerable to infections have low priority for own health. Migration of younger generation, lack of proper care in the family, insufficient housing, economic hardship and break-up of joint family have made the old age homes seem more relevant even in the Indian context. (Mane, 2016)

It is important to understand the social aspects concerning aged in the country as they go through the process of ageing. Increased life expectancy, rapid urbanization and lifestyle changes have led to an emergence of varied problems for the elderly in India. And hence XXXX foundation has identified these needs and to provide the elderly with the required support, the organization is proposing to build an Old age home for 100 elderly people in India.

GOAL OF THE PROJECT

Establishing sustainable transitional living as an option for individuals to maintain independence.

OBJECTIVE OF THE PROJECT

To provide a friendly residential setting within a care home environment in the year 2018-19 to 100 elderly people from India.
To provide a quality of life which enables residents to retain their independence, identity and a sense of value

TARGET POPULATION

The organization will have a cross subsidization model, where out of the total inmates, 60% inmates who are financially incapable can avail the services for free and the remaining 40% will have to pay for the services they receive. Further from the 40% paid inmates, based on their financial status 15% will pay the full fees and 25% will pay partly.