Overlooked No More: The Scope of Palliative Care in Caring for the Ageing

Since independence, India has witnessed increasing life expectancy at birth of its population; however, insufficient attention is paid to the quality of that extended life. Living longer, beset by chronic and multiple morbidities, increases the need for specialized care and ultimately serves to prolong the dying process. The cultural silence in India around death and dying makes it difficult for families to make appropriate end-of-life decisions once an elderly relative is incapacitated, often leading to over-medicalization at death. Sustainable Development Goal 3 aims to ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages, yet elder care services in India are inadequate and poorly organized. Palliative Care, as an approach, aims to improve the quality of life of patients and their families, from diagnosis till death, into bereavement. This paper discusses the potential of Palliative Care to provide relief from serious health-related suffering to elderly persons and their families.