Aging in contemporary India: A qualitative inquiry

Abstract

ABSTRACTIndia is aging. The growth of India’s older population has increased our concerns about their well-being. While it is critical to explore the diverse needs and aging experience of older Indians, their voices are largely missing in the aging literature. In this context, data was collected from 63 community-dwelling and OAH residing older men and women of Delhi NCR to understand their aging experience, views about old age and perceived need for government intervention in old age care and support. Reflexive thematic analysis of their aging experience and perception of old age generated five themes and six sub-themes: The aging body encompassing three sub-themes “the older we become the more diseases we have”, “the ointment called positive thinking”, “women’s quest for self-care”; Psychological gains and social losses; Affiliation, distraction and anticipation; The aging parent and the adult child comprising three sub-themes “filial relations—quality and quantity”, “children these days and their mobile phones”, “our daughter shows us more love and care”; and A time for religious and spiritual devotion. Lastly, the analysis of their perceived need for government support in old age care generated five sub-themes – Political cynicism, I was a private employee but am I not a part of this country? Government or Private Hospitals: A no-win situation, Everyday life and Reforms in OAHs. The present findings highlight the multidimensional and multidirectional experience of aging and the diverse needs of older persons in the Indian context.KEYWORDS: Old ageaging experienceIndiareflexive thematic analysisIndian contextolder people AcknowledgmentsThe authors express their sincere gratitude to all the study participants - this study would not have been possible without their participation.Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.Availability of data and materialThe data will be made available on request, for research purposes only.Compliance with ethical standardsThe study was performed in accordance with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments and comparable ethical standards.Informed consentInformed consent was obtained from all the participants who were a part of the present study.