Sometimes, major social changes do not arrive through government reports, census surveys, policy announcements, or public debates. Instead, they appear silently in places where people often reveal realities more honestly than anywhere else — inside clinics, hospitals, consultation rooms and waiting areas.

From January to April 2026, MoulMouj teleconsultation services received hundreds of calls related to healthcare advice, counselling, elderly support and medical assistance. During routine documentation and review of patient interactions, one recurring pattern repeatedly drew attention. Initially, it was not planned as a formal study. It began as a simple observation noticed during day-to-day clinical work. However, after seeing the same pattern emerge repeatedly, it became increasingly difficult to ignore.

Under its ongoing Elders Deserve Better Project, the Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies on Ageing (CISA) conducted an observational study under the guidance and support of Project Advisor Prof. (Dr.) John Ebnezar, Founder President of the Geriatric Orthopaedic Society of India and recipient of the Padma Shri, Rajyotsava Prashasti, and Dr. B. C. Roy Award. Among elderly patients who had both married sons and married daughters, records were maintained to understand who was making teleconsultation calls, accompanying patients to healthcare facilities, and actively participating in caregiving responsibilities.

The findings were striking and perhaps socially revealing. Among teleconsultation calls in this selected group, 78% came from married daughters, 17% from married sons, while 5% came from patients themselves or spouses. The observations became even more revealing within the health centre itself.Among elderly patients with both married sons and daughters attending MoulMouj Health Centre, 35% were accompanied by daughters, 12% by sons, 7% by spouses, while 46% arrived entirely alone.

Numbers occasionally reveal........

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