Geriatric Care In Focus: NISD Conducts 5-Day Training Programme For Women In Diu

With the rising elderly population, geriatric care is coming into focus. The National Institute of Social Defence (NISD) has conducted a five-day geriatric Caregiving training for 56 women in Diu. NISD has operated under the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India, since 1975. Its Senior Citizen Division works towards enhancing the quality of life for the elderly by ensuring care and support through training and capacity building of caregivers, service providers, professionals, and institutions working for the elderly. The event was organised by this Division in Diu, which concluded on October 13, following five days of training.

The training programme targeted primary caregivers, family members, Anganwadi workers, and other frontline workers. The Secretary of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Sudhansh Pant, underscored the need for compassionate caregiving to the elderly. Highlighting the growing elderly demographic, the Secretary emphasised creating a robust community support system to provide support to the elderly. He encouraged the participants to protect the dignity, safety, and overall well-being of the elderly and administered the Senior Citizen Pledge as a step towards instilling a sense of responsibility to provide a caring support system.

The five-day curriculum addressed both physical and medical care requirements. To sensitise the caregiving workforce, the training covered the basics, starting from the biological ageing process and evolving needs of the aged people. The training imparted practical knowledge as well, such as how to monitor vital signs, manage age-related health conditions, administer first aid during common emergencies, and ways to prevent infections.

It also highlighted the daily safety needs and importance of independence, and aspects like mobility assistance, home safety techniques, fall prevention, and how to use comfort and assistive devices properly. The practical training further covered the routine activities of daily living (ADLs), including balanced nutrition, sufficient hydration, personal hygiene, and medication-related support.

As a comprehensive senior care training programme, it covered mental health care, too, which remains a prevalent, more discussed, but insufficiently addressed issue. The training placed considerable focus on the mental health issues of the elderly as well, including their emotional well-being and social isolation.

A dedicated session to spread awareness about Dementia in old age was conducted, including how caregivers should approach the patient and provide care to a person experiencing cognitive decline.

Participants learnt psychosocial support strategies to address social isolation and loneliness among the elderly and the required communication skills to build an empathetic relationship with older persons. They were imparted knowledge about protecting senior citizens’ rights to privacy and dignity and taught how to identify, prevent, and report issues, such as elder neglect, abuse, or exploitation.

Besides the aged healthcare and legal rights of the elderly, the participants were also familiarised with the government schemes for the elderly, the institutional mechanism and how it works, and the support services available to senior citizens.