Till a few years ago most Senior Citizen Care Homes in India used to offer only a few recreational activities to keep the elderly engaged. Activities such as carroms, cards, spiritual gatherings, day outings, reading newspapers & magazines were the typical entertainment as part of the well-being services.
In today’s day and age, residents of Senior Living projects have become more demanding, they look forward for intellectual engagement & purpose driven activities.
National Institute of Adult Continuing Education (NIACE), (UK) highlights that, though many care settings offer activities for older people that are designed for enjoyment & occupation, much of this provision lacks a learning or personal development structure to it. As a result, older adults in care settings are even less likely to be engaged in learning in comparison to other adults of the same age.
While there are short-term benefits to engaging in activities, research & practice have shown that participation in learning has longer-term benefits that can help increase people’s quality of life & reduce health & social care costs.
Some benefits to older people from learning activities are:
- Improved confidence, self-esteem & sense of well-being
- Better physical & mental health
- Increased sociability
- Development of new skills
- Greater enjoyment of life – something to look forward to
- Lower levels of depression
Learning is not just about skills & qualifications that help people get on in life. Learning also helps improve the lives & wellbeing of everyone who participates & helps to build a better society.
It has also been seen that happier older people make care homes better places for residents, relatives & care staff alike.
Unfortunately there are many elders residing in charitable homes / subsidised care homes who are still not exposed to learning activities.
While pay & stay homes have therapists who design activities which are mentally stimulating however many government & charitable homes are deprived of such talent pool.
On the National level, India needs to develop guidelines & training material which can help the caregivers & well-being staff to understand the benefits of learning in residential care homes for elderly.
Resource document “A Guide for Activity Coordinators and Care Staff” by NIACE is a good read.
Document can be accessed on the website https://www.culturehealthandwellbeing.org.uk/ or downloaded here (Learning for older people in care settings) or can be read below