Introduction
There are several challenges that are facing the elderly people in the society. Living alone is a way of life to most elderly members of the society. After the children grow and move out to make their families, parents are left aging and by so doing they end up becoming weak o take care of their needs. When one of the spouses left dies, the one left behind faces a lot of challenges in maintaining all activities alone. We are in a society where parents are left alone when their kids grow and move out. The elderly people in the society are valuable because they have created the generation which is strong and at the same time they have a lot of information that should be shared to the young people. These are experienced people who have relevant knowledge that is useful in the development of the society.
If there are elderly people within your area, consider some of the problems they face and develop strategies on how to help them. This topic is relevant to the society because it helps us understand how vital these people are and some of the challenge they encounter without members of the society knowing. The topic helps the young generation see the importance of these people hence come up with strategies on how they can assist them live a good life even if they are living alone.
Merck (2010) reports that most senior people in society who are left alone end up feeling loneliness and isolated. Depending on the area, the senior lives, he may end up having several days without seeing someone to talk to something that develops some aspects of loneliness. Evidence shows that the person may extend some days without having contact with the outside world something that was not common during his or her young age. This is something that creates negative thoughts to these people and may end up to actions of suicide. Instead of experiencing such periods, the elderly population at times prefers committing suicide so as to end the loneliness thoughts that affect them, (Edwards, 2012).
Society or the young generation should take care of these elderly people so as to prevent such as of suicide or negative thoughts. Merck suggests that we should ensure that the elderly people are given maximum attention and shown love so that they don’t feel like they have been isolated by the society. This will make them feel to be part of the society and still feel they have some contributions for the society and by so doing they do not develop negative thoughts such as committing suicide. The society should find activities for the elderly people to take part in so that they don’t feel lonely or isolated from the outside world. Family members and friends of the elderly should always arrange for visits or assign someone to take care of the elderly in order to prevent the development of these feelings, (Sorenson, 2009).
Apart from feeling lonely, the elderly people face the increased risk of poverty as they become old and old. According to a study carried by Meehan and the colleagues (2011), most elderly people entirely depend on government assistance or personal savings they had made during their work period. This is a risk for those who were not employed and have no access to government assistance. In this case, elderly people end up living without anywhere to depend for their financial needs. Meehan and the colleagues (2011), reports that these people are more likely to experience the increased risk of poverty because they no longer work and have no sources of money to finance their personal needs. It is the work of the society to ensure that the elderly people are living in an appropriate environment.
There are those spouses who have outlived their families and must support financial needs of the family. This becomes even difficult because it is either they end living depending from society or well wishers or die out of hunger. It is an obligation of the society and family members to ensure that elderly people avoid all their financial problems. We should help them come up and maintain their financial budgets in order to reduce the increased risk of poverty in the society. The society should help the senior manage and monitor their financial security. They ensure that the entire community lives in harmony and the elderly people are living without fear of how they will survive in the future. There is a tendency in the society where the young generation views the elderly as waste and useless. The young people should remember that it is through these old people they have managed to know what has made them view the old as useless people in the society, (Francis, 2002).
Health and mobility are another challenge that has been affecting the elderly population. When people become old, they end up becoming weak thus reducing the body immune system. It is easy for the old people to face challenges in health care as compared to young people. When the elderly people become sick when in the home, they have a risk suffering because of they have no strength to alert on their emergencies. It is the duty of the society to ensure that these people have maximum care and that they are at all times free to access health care services. We should provide the senior people in the society with alert system so they can reach emergency departments when they are in trouble. The study shows that the senior people are more likely to face healthcare challenges because they do not have enough financial support for their medical bills. It is up to the society to ensure that these people get quality and healthy living, (Sorenson, 2009).
In summing up, I think we should learn and understand that the senior people in the society are of importance and at the same time there some challenges that they face. I believe these articles have provided vital information to the society. They have highlighted some of the common challenges that affect the elderly population and strategies that should be used to deal with the challenges. It is clear that most senior people in the society depend on the society for their living. We should accept that fact and work towards developing strategies that ensure that they feel incorporated and that they are not isolated by any means.
Reference:
Edwards, R. D. (2012). Population aging, the dependency burden, and challenges facing preventive medicine. Preventive Medicine. pp. 533-534. doi:10.1016/j.ypmed.2012.07.025
Francis, D. R. (2002). Facing the challenges of world’s aging population. Christian Science Monitor. p. 20
Meehan, P., Saltzman, L., & Sattin, R. (2011). Suicides among older United States residents: epidemiologic characteristics and trends. American Journal of Public Health, 81(9), 1198-1200.
Sorenson, S. (2009). Suicide among the elderly: issues facing public health. American Journal Of Public Health, 81(9), 1109-1110
