This essay will discuss the barriers to older adults aging in their home close to their communities. It will be divided into several parts addressing policy, social isolation, elderly abuse, socio economic and cultural barriers of older adults aging. Te Whare Tapa will be used during this essay as a model which includes mental health, spiritual health, family health and physical health. The New Zealand Positive Ageing Strategy’s goal is to encourage and support the elderly to continue living in their own homes to maintain their personal independence as said by (Davey, 2006).
Davey (2006) mentions the importance of the policy on ageing in the place is to represent older people who greatly value their independence and their rights. Aging in the place also has barriers that hinder independence stated by (Dwyer, 2000).
Seniors participating in communities/societies are an indicator of productive and healthy aging and through the support of others has a strong effect on their health. However a large amount of elderly are at risk of social isolation and loneliness as said by British Columbia Ministry of Health (2004).
Factors that may put someone at risk for being socially isolated or lonely are poor health, disabilities, gender, loss of a spouse, living alone, reduced social networks, aging, transportation issues, place of residence and others such as poverty and low self-esteem. (British Columbia Ministry of Health, 2004, p. 3) According to Tang (as cited in Ministry of Health, 1997), Social isolation and loneliness are problems that relate to the health of the elderly.
The Term Paper on Health And Social Care 14
We are now living in an ageing society and so health and social care will play a part throughout our life course in one way or another. I shall start the main body of my assignment by providing an explanation of what is meant by the life course. I will then move onto my experiences of adulthood and of using health and social care services, showing as I go how block 1 has helped me to critically ...
Being socially deprived is as much of a risk for health as cigarette smoking, high blood pressure, obesity and absence of physical activity. The World Health Organisation (2003) believes that social isolation and exclusion are affiliated with high amounts of premature death, lower wellbeing, more depression and greater level of disability from chronic diseases. With social isolation and loneliness comes depression according to Brown et al. (2012) depression is the highest occurring mood disorder in the elderly.
About 15% of older people in the community have signs of depression. Crisp & Taylor (2009) said that depression minimizes happiness and wellbeing, inhibits physical and social participation, and increases the risk of suicide. As Brown et al. (2012) says late-life depression usually appears with a medical condition, such as stroke, heart attack, diabetes and cancer. Brown et al. (2012) also says that depression can make the medical situation worse by influencing their compliance with diet, exercise or drug management.
Poor social support, loneliness, social isolation (including living alone) and family conflict have been shown to increase rates of anxiety and depression in coping with poor living conditions and the impact of major stressful life events, increase the risk of suicide among those with psychiatric disorders and older people, and significantly increase the risk of major depression. (Ministry of Health, 1997, p. 23) Brown et al (2012) quotes, “The low-income older man who is divorced or widowed, depressed and has a history of substance abuse is at great risk of suicide in New Zealand” (p. 5).
This barrier is associated with mental health, physical health and family health on Te Whare Tapa Wha as said by Ministry of Health (2012).
Brown et al. (2012) states that roughly about 2 to 3% of the elderly population are affected by elder abuse. Brown et al. (2012) declares that, “the term elder abuse is used to describe the experience of physical harm (battering), verbal abuse, exploitation, denial of rights, forced restraint and neglected needs, usually by an individual responsible for the care of an older adult” (p. 75).
The Essay on Verbal Abuse Article Esteem Physical
Title: New Research Dispels Popular Myth That A Bully's Words Will Never Hurt You. Date: April 17 2003 Source: University Of Warwick Webpage: web > This article reveals that verbal abuse has a much greater impact on the victims's elf-worth than physical attacks. In school settings it was discovered that name-calling can significantly reduce self-esteem. Dr. Stephen Joseph, a psychologist at the ...
Older people are more at risk of elder abuse or neglect if they are dependent on one person for all or part of their care, have mental or physical disabilities, have communication difficulties, have long standing negative personality traits that may have become more pronounced, have limited social contacts and are isolated and have feelings of low self-esteem. (Age concern, 2007, p. 2) Age concern (2009) found that “55- 62% was psychological abuse, 40-50% was material/financial abuse, 20% was physical abuse and 16-19% was neglect” (p. 1).
Brown et al. 2012) believes the lack of abuse being reported maybe in relation to elderly feeling vulnerable, having low self-esteem, having impaired process of thought and isolation. This barrier is associated with physical, mental and family dimensions of Te Whare Tapa Wha as quoted by Ministry of Health (2012).
Having low income is a barrier for old people causing restrictions in daily life. Dwyer (2000) says, “Older people have lower incomes than the average for all adults, with older Maori, older Pacific and older Asian people respectively having the lowest incomes”.
According to Davey (2006) trying to keep a property well maintained to an acceptable standard can be a burden for low income homeowners. Insufficient housing conditions might affect their wellbeing and health and could ultimately put them into a nursing home earlier than expected. Dwyer (2000) states, “Living alone and having lower average incomes are factors that lead women into institutional care at higher rates than men at older ages” (p. 10).
Age Concern (2012) says not all Pacific Islands elderly are entitled to retirement pensions in New Zealand so they heavily rely on family members for financial support.
The Research paper on Health and Social Care – Service User Needs
Individual service users have a range of needs, which must be met, including physical, intellectual, emotional ad social needs. In my case study, a care worker, a nurse and a doctor who in turn identified Sophie’s range of needs carried out Sophie’s care assessment. They then developed a plan to meet Sophie’s needs. This next section covers a range of approaches used in Health and Social Care to ...
Dwyer (2000) believes income is one of the most significant factors for health status. Low income hinders the elderly to purchase health insurance, health care and other products and services that can assist in maintaining good health. According to Brown et al. (2012) to come into possession of sufficient and nutritious food can be a prolonged dilemma. Many elderly cannot afford to buy meat, fresh vegetables and fruit that administer many essential nutrients. Brown et al. 2012) also said having the absence of transportation or not having acess to a supermarket, failing to see the products and poverty may be extra elements in poor health. Socioeconomic factors affecting nutritional intake in older adults include available time for food preparation and eating, availability of desired foods, availability of transportation to shops, education level and nutritional knowledge, food fads, income level and lack of food preparation equipment. (Brown et al. , 2012, p. 037) This barrier is associated with physical, mental and family sides of Te Whare Tapa Wha as stated by the Ministry of Health (2012).
Ministry of health (1997) believe that, “cultural issues ranked third after cost and transport as barriers to using health services” (p. 26).
Brown et al. (2012) explain that ethnic elderly feel powerless in the fact that they are unable to communicate effectively with English speaking healthcare workers. Brown et al. (2012) says gaining access to health services are restricted if the ethnic elderly cannot speak the language of the predominant population.
Age Concern (2012) says, “Language and resettlement issues can be significant for older members of ethnic communities including older refugees”. Dwyer (2000) mention barriers that kaumatua have to face include cost, lack of culturally relevant services, lack of suitable information and lack of integrated services. Services arranged for the home need to take into account the difference in cultures, gender and class which seniors have created for themselves. Ministry of health (1997) state Pacific Island elderly generally find it hard to locate information about the services available to them.
In some cases they feel the health professionals they come into contact with are culturally inappropriate. Age concern (2012) says “As the cultural diversity of the older population increases there is a growing need for the development of culturally relevant services and for increased training of health and support workers in cultural issues”. This barrier associates all four sides of Te Whare Tapa Wha which is physical, mental, spiritual and family dimensions as stated by the Ministry of Health (2012).
The Business plan on Indian Health Service: Creating a Climate for Change
IHS is a very complex organization that serves the American Indian and Alaskan Native population. Effective health services for American Indians and Alaskan Natives had to integrate the philosophies of the tribes with those of the medical community. Because not all tribes signed treaties with the United States some people with Indian heritage were not eligible to participate with the federal ...
In conclusion it may be good in some ways for elderly to maintain their independence in ageing in the home but with that said there are many barriers that hinder independence. Policy, social isolation, elderly abuse, socio economic and cultural barriers are only a small amount of barriers old people face. These barriers all come under one or more of the four dimensions of Te Whare Tapa Wha. When one side of Te Whare Tapa Wha is disturbed it affects the health and wellbeing of the elderly which could lead to premature entry into residential care.
