As elderly populations by 2030 exceed that of the millennials, and understand the data per 2018 where the aging population census exceeded that of children under the age of five…. We are definitely looking at a future where we will have more aging populations not limited to any one nation, writes Purnima Sreenivasan.

Caregivers are an essential necessity to caring for our aged populations, present and future. Caregiving is not a choice for many, when resources are not available. Caregivers help our aged in homes, facilities, communities. Their wellbeing is of much importance, as the needs of other members of our communities. Caregiving can be beneficial in many ways and stressful in others.

So how then do we solve the burdens of caregiving, for today and tomorrow? It starts with health thinking of seniors. What this means is we design caregiving in terms of individual health. No two seniors’ age similar, even amongst blood borne siblings. Aging is a unique journey for every being on earth.

Today’s caregivers need supportive environment, access to resources, sense of belonging, financial stability, culture, values, beliefs and ability for self-growth and prosperity. Tomorrow’s caregivers will need not only human but technical support, access to resources, robots, bots, chats, wearables, medical devices in the palm of their hands to care or communicate remotely and physically, financial growth, beliefs, values that have a machine-human interface, time for self- growth, sense of belonging, committing, and actually saving/ serving human, animal and plant lives in a holistic way.

Caregivers will care for their kith and kin if the man made health problems surge, their parents’ generations if their life spans continue to decrease or grandparents if they live longer than their own parents. This will be determined if and when we can/could reverse, prevent or even cure many of our chronic and undiagnosed or untreatable conditions.

Where there is no end to any one idea or ideal, caregiving is a process of meeting of compassion driven minds that feel the necessity of caring as realization of self-love. Caregivers will continue to tone their skills, what is left to our imagination is whether there will be enough for our exploding elderly populations or not?