EXPLORING DIVERSE ASPECTS OF THE ISSUES OF THE ELDERLY OLD AGE HOME RESIDENTS OF BANGLADESH AND INDIA AND SUGGESTING STEPS TO DEAL WITH THESE

Traditional support received from family or community by the elderly is almost fading out of contemporary society. In earlier times elderly were treated with special respect because of their experience and wisdom. But such values have been steadily eroded with the passage of time. The elderly are now treated as liabilities , rather than assets. With old age come many psychosocial problems in human life. The chief problems may be analysed to show how the problems affect the life of the elderly. Financial insecurity due to the decrease in income is a serious problems and added medical bills makes matter worse in old age . Gender plays an important role in the ageing process with significant differences noted in the ageing process , variation in health conditions as well as care received . The role of gender in the ageing process and its influence in the prevalence, clinical presentation and course of various mental and physical health condition in the elderly. Gender and gendered discrimination the result of social and cultural norms, customs and stereotypes, as well as legal , political and economic conditions on the advancement of women represent an important of this environment and have a significant impact on men and women’s experience of the ageing process. Most of the female elderly are more likely than male elderly to suffer from ill-health , have less access to health care and suffer discrimination within the health care system. In this respect female elderly are more likely than male elderly to be depressed, to be poor financial circumstances and to suffer from elder abuse. So, we found that the key gender disparities in health outcomes , the socio-economic and cultural aspects of ageing and attitudes to health services , all of which have implications for policy and practice. In this context , old age home become almost sole option for the older people who have nowhere else to turn to. The prevailing state of affairs calls for a new form of institutional care for the elderly. Hence, it is only natural that the issue of old age homes has become important and urgent . The homes for the aged may not be the panacea remedy for the ills of the elderly but it can provide the healing touch to destitute , helpless elderly and ameliorate their plight considerably.