Elderly care or eldercare goes far beyond just sitting beside and discussing life with the elderly. It involves a lot of compassion and willingness to walk that extra mile for the appropriate care for old people. To be at par with the changing world, a lot of emerging issues and needs are to be considered and addressed. This type of care includes assisting senior citizens with their special needs and requirements. The presence of a variety of professional institutions and organisations that care for old people nationwide has worked towards sharing and uplifting the load of caregiver’s insecurities. The differentiating cultural perspective on elderly citizens has brought a wind of change in the way we perceive and attend to our elder’s needs.
The broad term, eldercare, encompasses services such as assisted living, adult daycare, shared homes, long term care, nursing homes, in-home care for old people, often referred to as residential care, old age homes and community living. Elderly care mainly focuses on the overall social and personal requirements of senior citizens. These groups of people need assistance with daily activities and health care and their desire is to age with dignity. Traditionally, care for old people had been the responsibility of family members and was provided by the members of the extended family. Increasingly in modern societies, the responsibility of care is now being shared by state or charitable institutions. The reasons for this change in the care for old people include decreasing family size, ambitious family members, greater life expectancy, the geographical dispersion of families and various other associated issues.
Hang on to providing appropriate care for old people: To appropriately understand and address the needs of the elderly, the idea of seeking help from professionals has been widely popular. Given a choice, most older adults would resist change and prefer to live in their own homes. Most of the elderly gradually lose functioning ability and require either additional assistance in the home or a shift to an eldercare facility. Assisted living is one of the most beneficial options for the elderly who need assistance with everyday tasks. Home care services may allow seniors to extend their living in their own home for a longer period of time. There might be a lot of say about the cons of sending the elderly to professional hands. Towards the brighter side, this helps in strategic planning for a better life for your loved ones.
Why hold on to ignorance when you can do wonders with a little amount of vigilance: Various other issues besides physical disease contribute to the downfall of the overall health of a senior. One of the main issues that magnify the condition is the negligence of the younger generation. Old people need supervision and proper assistance in their physical, emotional and social needs. The laxity to understand the needs and worries of elders make them appear strangers to the younger generation, which leads to a miscommunication that advances to consider the elderly as a burden. Many of them are too scared to express themselves because of the fear of being humiliated by their loved ones which further fuels the lag in our care for old people.
A link between expectations and reality: Elders dream about a life filled with good health, dignity, economic independence and finally a peaceful death. They equally long for care, love and affection as most of us do. Understanding and attending to their needs and concerns will ensure good health of the seniors. However, increasing work responsibility on the part of the family members and caregivers of the seniors has decreased the time we spend attending to our senior’s needs. Elders with special cognitive challenges’ experience serious personality changes which require special care and attention. When they are left unattended, most of them are gripped with overwhelming feelings of dejection and purposelessness, some of them even turn violent. Regardless of the fact that many of us know that ageing is a natural progression and it has its own shortcoming, most of us tend to ignore this and resort to an unruly approach.
Subtler approach to care for old people: Remaining in good health as an older adult requires much more than what medication and treatment alone have to offer. This stretches far beyond just providing care with the mundane things they require. A lot of our qualities of caregiving especially include empathy and patience at its best. Caregiving need not necessarily mean being there for your elderly every hour of the clock, it just means you tackle your stuff enough to ensure the necessities required including your physical availability time and again.
Warning signs to watch out in your elderly:
Physical Problems – Chronic health problems often come about as people age and are unable to perform many of the activities they could once perform effortlessly. Their bodily condition may deteriorate to become more fragile, rigid, and less resilient. Chronic illnesses may cause secondary impairments or new illnesses to develop. Disease-related physical impairments may be easy to spot or may be subtler. However, it is important to note that just because your loved one hasn’t reported a physical impairment doesn’t mean he or she doesn’t require care. A complete physical examination including those of vision and hearing on a regular basis is an important part of an overall health plan.
Cognitive Problems – Although cognitive problems, at least in their mildest form, can be expected as your loved one ages, some of it might jeopardize their ability to live safely and independently. Cognitive problems may cause problems with memory, difficulty with language, difficulty making judgments, and difficulty regulating emotions. Mild dementia, one of the most common problems in the elderly, may not require elder care, but its severity and progressiveness are what calls our attention to be addressed.
Emotional Problems –Certain inevitable life events such as a decline in health, loss of a spouse, the inability to find pleasure in things once enjoyed, or the feelings of worthlessness are all issues that may pile up to your loved one’s experience of emotional problems and create hindrance in your care for old people. Emotional problems may manifest themselves in multiple ways. Issues such as suddenly becoming socially withdrawn, moody or irritable, or even suicidal tendencies add up to the already deteriorating condition. Many seniors completely deny the existence or ignore the severity of emotional problems, which stretches on to the thoughtful observations of physicians and family members more important.
It seems that care for old people is not a one-way approach. An overall intervention of their physical and mental health is required to keep a track of their holistic wellbeing.