The elderly populations face poor health conditions and financial problems after their retirement. Kapur (2018) assert that aging presents both opportunities and challenges with old-age care homes helping to eliminate most of the problems. Deprived, underprivileged, and poverty-stricken families lacking the resources to support the elderly are likely to benefit from the various things availed in the old age care homes.
Old care homes do not always achieve the positive results they hope to achieve in the elderly. According to McMurdo and Witham (2007), the personnel in the old age care homes tend to be discriminative with many being disrespectful to the elderly. The welfare of the elderly is at risk when they understand they are discriminated against with the human rights disrespected due to their over-dependency.
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The old-age care homes act as a rescue area for the elderly who are facing financial problems. According to Aktar (2020), Aafiyat as an example of old-age care homes provides shelter for the economically struggling catering for all their needs. Therefore, old age care homes provide for the economically deprived individuals.
The old-age care homes may not necessarily attend to the mental health problems that are associated with decreased productivity as well as the loss of financial income. Parkar (2015) explains that economic problems are associated indirectly with anxiety issues, depression, and suicidal thoughts. The old-age care homes may not detect and treat these issues, which further deteriorate increasing the mortality rates of the elderly.
Mental health problems are common issues among the elderly. Manaf et al. (2016) assert that mental health issues are heightened by living conditions in rural areas, where they have lost their spouses, families, and neglected. However, the old-age care homes are safe areas availing new families to the deserted and neglected.
Social exclusion and loneliness are common problems for the elderly. Pullum and Akyil (2017) assert that the old care homes tend to exacerbate loneliness and social exclusion by depriving these people of cultural, social, and economic platforms through which they interact in society.
The old-age care homes tend to have both advantages and disadvantages to the elderly. However, the positive effects such as improving mental health, availing social arenas for interactions, meeting the economic needs of the people, and availing a family that caters to isolation problems, old age care homes should be avoided for the elderly.
Aspects related to Old Age Care Homes
Mental Health
Pro
Abdul Manaf, M., Mustafa, M., Abdul Rahman, N., Yusof, K., & Abd Aziz, N. (2016). Factors Influencing the Prevalence of MentalHealth Problems among Malay ElderlyResiding in a Rural Community: A Cross-Sectional Study. Plus ONE 11(6): E0156937 DOI: 10.1371/Journal.Pone.0156937 . Retrieved 15 September 2020, from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/303890301
The authors indicate that mental health problems such as anxiety, depression, and emotional stress are heightened by living in the rural areas of Malaysia, in which the family members neglect people, lost their spouses as well as have lost their self-esteem. Therefore, the chief authors emphasize that more equity is necessary to intensify the opportunity to detect, diagnose as well as treat the mental health problems, which are achievable in the old age care homes.
Con
Püllüm, E., & Akyıl, R. (2017). Loneliness and Social Isolation among Elderly People. Meandros Medical And Dental Journal , 158-163. Retrieved 15 September 2020, from http://cms.galenos.com.tr/Uploads/Article_16302/MEANDROS-18-3.pdf.
The chief authors explain that social isolation tends to reduce the well-being of an individual, cause poor health while increasing mortality, depression, and cognitive decline. The elderly in the old homes feel that they are deprived of the economic, social-cultural, and political platforms, which they get from their interactions in society. They also explain that lonely and desperate elders are at a higher risk of suicide and depression.
Welfare
Pro
Kapur, R. (2018). Living of the Elderly in Old Age Homes. Retrieved 14 September 2020, from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/323755237
The author explains the problems associated with the elderly after their retirement as economic problems, poor health conditions, and lack of emotional support, which is available to the wealthy, and educated individuals. The underprivileged, deprived, and poverty-stricken families lack the resources to support the elderly whom they consider as a burden thus, they can use the old-age care homes, where their needs can be fully taken care of.
Con
McMurdo, M. & Witham M. D. (2007). Health and welfare of older people in care homes, 913-914. Retrieved 14 September 2020, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1865466/. Con
The authors explain the existing depressing way of things on the old-age care homes. They affirm that old age care homes lack respect for the elderly’s dignity. They assert that care homes staff are discriminating with some even lacking respect for human rights. High dependency and illness among the elderly tend to threaten the dignity of the elderly, however, despite the dependency, it is paramount for the human rights to be respected.
Economic Constraints
Pro
Akhtar, S. (2020). Socio-Economic Problems Faced by Senior Citizens Living in Aafiyat Center Lahore, Pakistan. International Journal Of Research In Humanities And Social Studies , 5 , 8-12. Retrieved 15 September 2020, from http://www.ijrhss.org/papers/v5-i2/2.pdf.
The author reports his research based on the views of the elderly living in Aafiyat Center Lahore in Pakistan. He explains that age comes with decreased productivity and execution. With the nuclear families changing life a lot, the residents in Aafiyat assert that the old home acted as a rescue home after their family members could not accommodate them anymore with the decreased productivity.
Con
Parkar, S. (2015). Elderly Mental Health: Needs*. Retrieved 14 September 2020, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4381326/.
Old age care homes are important as the last resort when people become severely dependent. However, authors assert that despite the economic help, the elderly may not get the mental health care necessary due to the financial losses resulting from unproductivity and overspending as a result of dealing with their health, hence the heightening of their health problems.
References
Abdul Manaf, M., Mustafa, M., Abdul Rahman, N., Yusof, K., & Abd Aziz, N. (2016). Factors Influencing the Prevalence of MentalHealth Problems among Malay ElderlyResiding in a Rural Community: A Cross-Sectional Study. Plus ONE 11(6): E0156937 DOI: 10.1371/Journal.Pone.0156937 . Retrieved 15 September 2020, from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/303890301
Akhtar, S. (2020). Socio-Economic Problems Faced by Senior Citizens Living in Aafiyat Center Lahore, Pakistan. International Journal Of Research In Humanities And Social Studies , 5 , 8-12. Retrieved 15 September 2020, from http://www.ijrhss.org/papers/v5-i2/2.pdf.
Kapur, R. (2018). Living of the Elderly in Old Age Homes. Retrieved 14 September 2020, from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/323755237
McMurdo, M. & Witham M. D. (2007). Health and welfare of older people in care homes, 913-914. Retrieved 14 September 2020, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1865466/. Con
Parkar, S. (2015). Elderly Mental Health: Needs*. Retrieved 14 September 2020, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4381326/ .
Püllüm, E., & Akyıl, R. (2017). Loneliness and Social Isolation among Elderly People. Meandros Medical And Dental Journal , 158-163. Retrieved 15 September 2020, from http://cms.galenos.com.tr/Uploads/Article_16302/MEANDROS-18-3.pdf .
