Appropriate terminology

I read with interest the editorial on ‘Falls research is coming of age’ by Ashish Goel.^[1] It is a thoughtful, thought-provoking and elegant exposition of the importance of research on falls in India. However, I must take issue with one aspect of the article. Goel’s use of the term ‘inmates’ to describe older persons living in long-term residential facilities is wrong and de-humanizes the very group he seeks to champion. Alternatives could have been ‘clients’, ‘residents’ or, simply, ‘people’.