Grey Matter: Ageing In Developing Countries

Summary

Priya Shetty describes the seismic, demographic shift in the global population and the corresponding health and social challenges. The challenges associated with ageing relates to health, social relationships, crime, neglect, and economic inabilities. The ageing population constitutes a significant proportion of the global population (Shetty, 2010). It is 11% percent currently, but projected to be 22% in 2050. In the near future, there will be many ageing people due to longer healthy life expectancies. The relative numbers of working people will be low. This will have significant implications for the economy and business performance.

However, the effects of an ageing population are not straightforward and unpredictable. An increasing ageing population raises fundamental and formidable new challenges. The goal of human service delivery is to bring new opportunities for healthy living and create long, healthy lives, leading to extended working years, and varied capacities and needs. The key response is the adaptation on the levels of human service individuals, organizations, and society.

Health and social needs of the ageing population

In relation to financial issues, the ageing population increases the demand for health care services; hence the need for an adequate social insurance programs (Ibid). The developing world battles with the difficult task of balancing resource allocation between infectious disease and the growing burden of chronic disease epidemic that comes with ageing. In low-income nations, longevity of life comes with cruel consequences. New illnesses such as Dementia and Alzheimer’s disease are the new tide of problems related to old age. The problem of the ageing population does not only affect the developing world.

In the developed world, the elderly people must experience ailing health, and the challenge that are physically dependent on other members of the population. Currently, the ageing is a global agenda at least to the World Health Organization. The goal of World Health Organization’s actions relates to the improvement of the quality of life for the elderly. The burden posed by the elderly weighs down heavily on economically challenged families. In addition, families act as the main source of care for the disabled elderly.

The problems of the elderly come from other factors such as economic progress, grandparent carers, and policies such as the one child policy in China (Ibid). For instance, as the global economy progresses, people migrate to urban centers to find employment and new forms of life. People abandon and neglect elderly persons in the rural areas. People live several miles apart from their parents meaning that they are unable to provide care to them. In the current system of the economy, people are migrating across international borders.

The implication is that younger persons do not live in the same country as their parents. There is also the trend of the burden of grandparent carers, in which parents take care of children whose parents work in distant places. The current economic environment is uncertain. This means that people travel distances to find work and work long hours. The elderly people do not enjoy a relaxing retirement or care of their children when they are ill. The responsibilities are overwhelming, and there is the concern for their wellbeing is increasing because of their vulnerable situation as carers for grandchildren.

Addressing the Issues of the Ageing Population

The elderly people require specialized care and so must have protection against financial injustices, crime, neglect, burden of disease, and negative social interactions (Shetty, 2010). There is a need for policies and measures that ensure that the elderly members of the society live a quality life at the Human service individuals, organizations, and societies have to address the emerging challenges faced by the elderly members of the population. Organizations can leverage retired workers and incorporate them, in non-challenging tasks. Retirement creates worker shortages and so organizations should encourage retirees to extend their working beyond the traditional retirement age. They are a perfect source of part time labor.

Health institutions should create an environment, in which geriatrics can access quality care and feel the comfort equivalent to family care. Home care social and health support services are extension services provided by health centers. They enable vital services to reach the elderly populations at home. In this age, people are unable to work long distances and seek care from relevant institutions. Therefore, there is a need to extend care services to the elderly people in their urban homes and rural locations, where neglect is high.

Government institutions should create policies that facilitate the elimination of challenges related to high health care costs and inadequate access to health care services (Ibid). This should extend to include development of specific social and health services to the ageing members of the population. Human service delivery individuals and organizations should also promote health literacy. In relation to the current situation of neglect, the ageing population should gain vital knowledge concerning self-support. There is a need to create social protection systems and a society that facilitates people to contribute during their active, working life. The contribution goes to a pension fund that includes health coverage at the end of their working life.

Reference

Shetty, P. (2010). “Grey Matter: ageing in developing countries”. The Lancet, 379(9823): 1285-1287.

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