Murthy Radha, Sivaraman Sruthi, Chandra Anitha, Bhandary Swati, Harbishettar Vijaykumar
Nightingales Centre for Ageing and Alzheimers, Nightingales Medical Trust, Bangalore, Karnataka, India.
Padmashree Medicare, Bangalore, Karnataka, India.
Indian J Psychol Med. 2021 Sep;43(5 Suppl):S113-S120. doi: 10.1177/02537176211046529. Epub 2021 Oct 19.
Elders Helpline has been operational in Bangalore by joint effort of the Nightingales Medical Trust (NMT) and the City Police since its inception in 2002. The Elders Helpline is unique as it is the first of its kind in India that offers services for the welfare of the older people in Bangalore city. The objectives of this article were to review the process of setting up of the helpline services, its evolution, range of services offered, to evaluate the services to ascertain the social difficulties with a focus on abuse experienced by the older people in Bangalore and find out the common themes. From the records, the Elders Helpline has responded to as many as 144058 calls between April 2009 and March 2020. This article reviewed functions of the Elders Helpline including supervision and training to its staff members, offering counselling to the Older adults by resolving family conflicts and other social issues by upholding and safeguarding their rights. The article highlights the need and impact of Elders Helpline suggesting the need to expand this type of Helpline to other Districts of the country. This study indicates that the Elders Helpline has become a platform for the elderly people to express their concerns and to make them feel secure. The Elders Helpline model is now launched nationally in October 2021 through the expansion of helpline services. There is a need to gather more comprehensive data and for ongoing research and training to reach out many needy older people.
自2002年成立以来，“老年人求助热线”一直在班加罗尔运营，这是由夜莺医疗信托基金（NMT）和市警方共同努力的成果。“老年人求助热线”独具特色，因为它是印度首个为班加罗尔市老年人福利提供服务的此类热线。本文的目的是回顾热线服务的设立过程、其发展演变、提供的服务范围，评估服务以确定社会困难，重点关注班加罗尔老年人所遭受的虐待，并找出共同主题。从记录来看，“老年人求助热线”在2009年4月至2020年3月期间共接听了多达144058个电话。本文回顾了“老年人求助热线”的职能，包括对其工作人员的监督和培训，通过解决家庭冲突和其他社会问题来维护和保障老年人的权利，为老年人提供咨询服务。文章强调了“老年人求助热线”的必要性和影响，建议将这种热线扩展到该国其他地区。这项研究表明，“老年人求助热线”已成为老年人表达关切并让他们感到安全的平台。“老年人求助热线”模式现已于2021年10月通过扩展热线服务在全国推出。有必要收集更全面的数据，并进行持续的研究和培训，以帮助更多有需要的老年人。
