Assisted Living Facilities in India: Need, Importance and Impact

What’s an assisted living facility?

Assisted living homes assist elderly or incapacitated people in their daily activities of living. There are typically a few "levels of care" available, with populations ranging from 25 to 120 or more.

Residents of an assisted living facility typically have their own apartments or rooms and share communal areas. They have access to a wide range of services, such as meals, personal care support, medication aid, housekeeping, laundry, round-the-clock supervision, security, on-site staff, as well as social and recreational events.

Families in India are choosing assisted living for their elderly members due to factors like declining family numbers, a lack of understanding of age-related diseases, and the availability of facilities with specialised care.

Neha Sinha, a dementia specialist with training in psychology and co-founder of Epoch Elder Care-assisted living homes for elderly, used her experience working with senior residents in three facilities in Gurugram and Pune to create the organisation. ​"In contrast to younger people, the elderly require a holistic assisted living facility that provides care in all aspects of their existence, including their emotional, cognitive, social, and physical requirements. Providing specialised care for seniors with neurological diseases including dementia and Parkinson's is one of Epoch Elder Care's main areas of expertise."

How does an assisted living facility help? 

In the past, when joint families largely dominated having elders in the home was seen as a blessing, and all family members participated in the obligation equally. Also, due to shorter life expectancies, chronic illnesses were not as prevalent for as long. Despite having access to resources, families are finding it difficult to care for their elderly loved ones as nuclear families become more prominent.

Personalized care in a setting that resembles a home can help seniors lead happy lives by focusing on them as individuals as well as their clinical condition. Using professional services like assisted living for the elderlies is still frowned upon in a nation like India, where Sinha claims that the cultural norm is to care for your parents until death do you part.

What are the societal challenges?

The fact that India's market for elder care services is still in its infancy is one of the biggest challenges in Sinha's opinion.  "The obligation for caring for elderly people is still seen as relying on the individual rather than the community or the government. The stigma attached to using elder care services or getting outside assistance to take care of one's parents has been a major barrier to getting professional care like an assisted living facility, and it has a detrimental effect on the health and well-being of elders and those who provide care for them." Many people, according to her, normalise long-term illnesses like Parkinson's disease and dementia as a natural part of ageing.

Additionally, despite their best efforts, families of the elderly often behave differently because they are unaware of the neurological diseases linked to ageing. 

“Often, family members are unsure of how to handle the circumstance. Many feel ashamed and awkward talking about their old parents in public or asking for support for them, especially if they suffer from illnesses like dementia. The stigma associated with using professional services causes a lack of sufficient care, which can occasionally result in the elderly being neglected." says Sinha. 

According to Sinha, seniors need assisted living facilities and services when they can no longer manage their lives or function independently owing to age-related concerns or because they require specialised care due to a medical condition. The facilities are set up to take care of every aspect of ageing while considering the resident's present health.

An aged person's care strategy will include focus areas on each part, whether it be early detection of a disease condition, a life-threatening situation, a fall, support with everyday chores like washing, feeding, etc., or social participation.

Epoch Elder Care runs 3 facilities in India. Frida, Vermeer assisted living home in Gurgaon and Monet assisted living home in Pune.