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INTRODUCTION To care for those who once cared for us is one of the highest honour. Tia Walker Caring for seniors (citizens) is perhaps the greatest responsibility we have. Those who have walked before us have given so much and made possible the life we all enjoy. Senator John Hoeven All human beings experience changes at physical, physiological, psychological, emotional and other levels. These changes are progressive in nature and ultimately lead to senescence. Senescence is a stage of life during which the biological functions are declined. The process of ageing starts from a single cell to tissues to organs to organism and then this organism passes through various stages of life from infancy, childhood, adolescence, adulthood to middle age to old-age. 1.1 AGEING 1.1.1 What is ageing? Ageing can be defined as the progressive changes taking place in the organism which ultimately leads to senescence which are expressed in the form of debility, disease and death of the organism. Various theories of ageing have explained this phenomenon of ageing by providing different logics. A majority of these theories have explained the physiological, biological, chemical and genetic changes occurring in the body as the causes of ageing. Genetic theories, wear-and-tear theory, cross-linkage theory, auto-immune theory, oxidative damage theory are some of such theories. 1.1.2 Psycho-sociological aspects of ageing Another category of theories of ageing is psycho-sociological theory of ageing. These theories focus on explaining the process of ageing not on the basis of molecules, genes and cells, but rather focus on various psychological and social aspects of ageing. As individual ages, there are changing occurring in the behavioral pattern, the amount,
and quality of social interactions, and the activities in which the individual keeps oneself engaged in. The Psycho-sociological theory has explained the four factors which are important in the process of ageing. These four factors are: Disengagement: An individual does not live in isolation, but rather lives and functions remaining in touch with the other members of the society. This factor identifies the engagement of the person with the other members of the society as pivotal for healthy ageing. If the relationships of the person with other members of the society are good, the person will experience healthy ageing. Activity: Every individual plays certain roles in the life time, be it the family roles or workplace roles or some other social roles. These roles keep the person occupied and active at social fronts also. These types of ongoing social activity are also important for the healthy ageing. Life course: The life-course means various stages through which individual passes through during the life time. According to Erik Erikson, an individual passes through eight stages of psychosocial development. In each stage, there are certain life goals which an individual acquires for passing through that stage in healthy manner. The individual must fulfill these psychosocial demands at each stage. Continuity: Although individual experiences changes occurring at their physical and physiological levels in the process of ageing, however, despite these changes, people have a tendency to maintain their value system, their preferences, and overall personality during their life time. This is known as continuity of some aspects by every individual. From these explanations given by theories of ageing which focus on these social-psychological factors, it can be said that ageing is not only dependent on certain biological changes but also on the external environment that is provided to individuals. 1.2 GERONTOLOGY The branch of study that deals with the concept of ageing and the issues which emphasize the importance of various factors responsible for healthy ageing is known as,
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