End of life care and the ageing population: Asian perspectives

As Asia's older population continues to rise, discussions around end-of-life care become imperative. However, end-of-life care, also known as palliative care, is mostly associated with cancer, and the link between palliative care and ageing needs urgent expansion. Apart from an increase in the ageing population, the joint family system across Asia has also declined. As a result, several older adults with chronic illnesses either live alone or with their spouse and are often dependent on paid caregivers for their end-of-life care. Although end-of-life care is a crucial part of ageing, it has received limited attention in the social gerontological scholarship of India. Based on fieldwork conducted in different cities of India, this chapter will demonstrate the quality of care received by older adults with chronic conditions in urban India. Additionally, this chapter will also illustrate why end-of-life care for the elderly with chronic ailments needs urgent policy attention. Finally, this chapter will adopt a comparative perspective and present a comparison of end-of-life care policies for the elderly across South Asian and Southeast Asian countries.