Abstract
Increasing life expectancy has rendered a significant increase in the number of older adults (65 years and above). This period in life is referred to as a time of transition with regard to accommodation. An increase in the aging population has an implication to society including pressure on government spending, slow labor force growth, and increased demands on families to help older parents and their relatives. One area that needs to change in the management of older adults is their living accommodations. Most accommodations in society are unprepared to meet certain conditions that are ideal for older adults due to factors such as affordability, physical challenges on the elders, proximity to their family members and even the need for specialized care. A human service professional should take into account certain factors while working with older adult clients who are making such a transition. The paper will discuss the reasons why older adults would need to change their living accommodations and the factors human service professionals should focus on while working with older adult clients.
Affordability
Housing costs have a direct influence on financial security. Housing affordability is a big problem to the aging population. Many older adults do not own homes and can only afford to live in their retirement villages. Older adults are faced with some age-related problems such as low income, declining health status or even the loss of a partner. This increases financial pressure on them rendering them to settle for living accommodations that are substandard or even dilapidated. Affordability may also cause the relocation of older adults from familiar environments. When there are cases of increased rents and prices for houses, the older population is forced to move to outer suburbs or rural areas in search of affordable housing and accommodation. This has an implication on their lives due to the disconnection which alienates older people from the social networks that provide support and companionship. The rising cost of accommodation has limited the accommodation choices on older adults as compared to the younger population.
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Physical Challenges
Older adulthood comes with a lot of health-related concerns such as physical challenges or disabilities. Physical disabilities can manifest in a number of ways such as mobility problems, difficulty in the use of limbs, hearing and visual difficulties, speech problems, back and joint problems and sometimes chronic pain. Such forms of physical challenges can influence the decision of the older adults to change their living accommodations to suit their physical demands. The older people with physical problems will have to move to houses with specific modifications such as those with ramps to facilitate movement up and down a building. The houses will also be required to have a lowered entry threshold of a unit and possessive of grab bars in the bathroom. Physical challenges such as vision and speech problems would require the older population to seek accommodation where they can be assisted by their family members to carry out day to day activities.
Proximity to Other Family Members
Proximity to family members is highly valuable for older adults. According to Cho et al . (2014), the relocation of the older population is highly dependent on the proximity to their children and siblings. Availability of family members is crucial in the contact and care provision of the older adults. Family networks are considered important in the residential satisfaction and wellbeing of the older population. Nearness to the family members, therefore, increases the possibilities of family contact and the exchange of support. Older people have a sense of reinvigoration when living with their family members. Also, living with their family members, the older population has a sense of security and health as the family is able to take care of most of their needs in a comprehensive way.
Need For Specialized Care
Naturally, older adults are in a critical point of their lives where chronic illnesses become a menace. A majority of people in this age bracket are vulnerable to lifestyle and pathological conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, stroke, and heart diseases among much more. As such, the management of these people not only requires family care but specialized medical care from medical practitioners such as family nurses. Levasseur et al. (2015) said that this would affect the living accommodation requirements of the older population as they would tend to live with either their family members or at the nursing home to ensure that their management in specialized care becomes a success.
Additional Factors That Human Service Professionals Should Consider
Human service professionals are focused on meeting human needs by application of a wide variety of knowledge aimed towards improving the quality of life of service to the general population. In service provision to the older adults who are experiencing accommodation transitions, the human service professionals should consider a number of factors.
Mental Health
It has been documented that as people age, their cognitive ability degenerates at a specific rate among different people. Mental retardation is a key factor that can determine the living accommodation demands of an older adult with the prompt advice of a human service professional. It is very risky for the aged people with possible mental problems to live on their own and hence they can either be referred to nursing homes or to their family members’ residences where appropriate care can be taken on them.
Financial capabilities
As stated earlier, older adults face financial problems due to lack of a source of livelihood. Their accommodation needs can well be taken care of, but due to the demanding economic times, survival for the older people can prove difficult due to lack of sufficient funds. The human service professionals can, therefore, advice the prompt relocation of the older people to residences where their basic needs such as food and water can be easily met.
Personal reasons
This is another important factor in determining the living accommodations of the older adults that can easily go without noticing. Galvin et al . (2015) said that with people reaching the prime ages of above 65 years of age, they could develop several personal reasons for the change in accommodation or relocation. Some reasons that could be considered as personal include the assertions that they would want to spend the rest of their entire lives with their family members, religious and spiritual reasons, and cultural reasons. Other minor reasons that could fuel relocation could include wrangles in the current neighborhood. Personal reasons are very important considerations by the human service professional in respecting the views and the right of an individual with regard to expression.
Conclusion
To conclude, it is vital to appreciate that there is an increase in a number of the older adult population over the past few decades to increased health and subsequent life expectancy. The transition in accommodation is important in meeting the demands of the older population. Such demands include affordability, physical challenges, proximity to family members and specialized care demands. In addition, the human service professional whose aim is to improve the quality of life of individuals should also consider certain factors such as mental status, financial capabilities, and personal reasons while working with older adults who are experiencing such a transition.
References
Cho, J., Martin, P., Poon, L. W., & Georgia Centenarian Study. (2014). Successful aging and subjective well-being among oldest-old adults. The Gerontologist , 55 (1), 132-143.
Galvin, K. M., Braithwaite, D. O., & Bylund, C. L. (2015). Family Communication: Cohesion and Change (Subscription) . Routledge.
Levasseur, M., Généreux, M., Bruneau, J. F., Vanasse, A., Chabot, É., Beaulac, C., & Bédard, M. M. (2015). The importance of proximity to resources, social support, transportation and neighborhood security for mobility and social participation in older adults: results from a scoping study. BMC public health , 15 (1), 503.
