The innovative project empowers elders in community on health and social issues. Local Senior Citizen
Organizations in cities are adopted. A Multi Service Health Centre is run by elders, in a space donated by
the organization. Collaborative sessions on common diseases are taken by allied health professionals
training older persons who volunteer to be local supervisors. These supervisors take care of elders in their
neighborhood who are inactive /needing long term care. The nuclei of elders thus formed, are aware of
issues pertaining to them, improving their QOL. Elders participate /plan activities according to existing
culture and environment for e.g. in our two Agreements for Performance of Work with WHO SEARO at
New Delhi (2014) & Kolkata (2015) targeted older women volunteers, where self management of chronic
diseases like arthritis, hypertension with simple lifestyle modifications incorporating diet and exercises
were taught. The focus group of women planned interventions with inputs from professionals. Our
projects are monitored and data published in various national and international journals.
www.dharmafoundationofindia.org.Supervisors refer elders to the centre, which help elders avail health
services in the neighborhood and ,financially help sustain running of the Centre too. Such simple, cost
effective intervention can be future guidelines of Multi Service Health Centres/Community /Recreation Centres/Polyclinics in the urban areas and Primary Care Centres in rural and semi urban areas. Preventive health models which empower populations may be one of the important aspects of future eldercare in
India. We hope to develop future guidelines with data from multicentric projects in India.