How culture affects the aging process:
Nigeria as a case study.
Juliet Anosike
Pikes Peak Community College
INTRODUCTION
Aging is a natural part of human life. In Nigeria, the overall population is increasing speedily and approximately 170millions. The populations of older people are on the rise than the general population. According to the united nation, the fraction of the Nigerian population aged 60 years and above will augment by 26 percent by 2020 and 38 percent by 2050. In general, people seldom cope effectively when aging in loneliness. On the other hand, according to (Connidis 2010) they cope when been surrounded by family and friends who provide them with emotional, love, financial, and social support.
Historical
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Medical help for treatment of chronic disease conditions (in the U.S) are available to older adults through Medicare and Medicaid, but the situation is very different in Nigeria no matter how serious the situation of the health issue may be the immediate family or extended family will always be the one to care for the aged, it is always a thing of joy in African settings. And in order to balance behavioral changes, medications, and symptom relief strategies, older adults need knowledge about what to do, the belief that they can achieve success, and family to help. When elders do not have family members close by, additional financial resources may be needed to acquire assistance and it is only those who are comfortable money wise that can provide or offer payment to caregivers to take care of their elderly one in Nigeria. Providing care, emotional support, and education to the aged, families will require a lot of fundamental change in …show more content…
Translating this approach to the Nigerian context, one suggestion has been that resource persons should be trained to help older people to understand their financial and health needs. Findings by Okoye and Aghedo (2011) show that one of the key reasons why the 2004 Act is not being embraced by Nigerian workers is lack of knowledge of the benefits. Older people who develop through training a broader knowledge of their range of financial options in later life are more likely to be able to minimize their dependence on care-givers, than are those whose knowledge of options is limited. As adults age, some of them need help only with daily activities, such as cleaning, cooking, or personal care, in order to remain in their own homes. Unfortunately, no insurance not to talk of reimburse for this type of care in Nigeria, so older individuals who need this "custodial" help must pay for it out-of-pocket or rely on unpaid caregivers. In Nigeria, there is no community-based long-term care of older adults and this is primarily delivered by informal caregivers like a facility or assisted living homes where the elders can stay and be well taken care of because the Nigeria government does not think is necessary to make such provision when every Nigerians value their families a lot is think of joy to see you showed a lot of care to the elderly in the family. The aged deserves attention, but this cannot be
Informal social supports are crucial to the well-being of older adults because they provide a connection to others. They can also be very helpful throughout life and especially as we get older. The book
Norman J. Vetter (1992). Gerald Bennett and Shah Ebrahim, The Essentials of Health Care of the Elderly, Edward Arnold, London, 1992, 207 pp., £9.99, ISBN 0 340 54599 3.. Ageing and Society, 12, pp 406-407 doi:10.1017/S0144686X00005195
Several studies also asserted that loneliness is correlated with aging itself (Tijhuis et al, 1999; Victor et al, 2000) and that there was a gradual increase in loneliness up to the age of 90 (Holmen, 1992). This increasing trend can be attributed to interactions with other factors due to additive nature of risk factors for loneliness and social isolation (Victor et al, 2000).
The Ministry of Social Development, 2008. Office for Senior Citizens the Ministry of Social Development Highlights from the Positive Ageing Strategy Annual Report 2001/2008 and Action Plan 2008/2010
Certain cultures that live at or below the poverty line prefer this type of assistance for their elderly family members because it allows them to have someone meet them at their home. This convenience is a big factor and provides the elderly with a way to fulfill their communal culture by living out their time at home among family, while still receiving any necessary assistance for health checks or IADL’s. This improves their quality of life by meeting their needs in a different way. These alternative methods to older adult care are more popular among minorities and cultural groups (Bookman & Kimbrel, 2011). Bookman and Kimbrel acknowledge the gap between financial status as well as culture and race, they stated, “...because elders are widely diverse by race and socioeconomic status, their families attach differing cultural meanings to care and have widely different resources with which to accomplish their care goals” (2011). Thus, creating the large gap seen in nursing home facilities. Specifically, cultures like the Chinese who maintain traditions like filial piety, in which the adult children must care for their elderly parent (Li & Buechel, 2007). This type of culture defines the line between those who view nursing homes as ideal and those who prefer a separate
Long-term health care consists of personal medical, and social services rendered to elders with chronic indispositions. These types of services are carried out through several different means, such as nursing homes, home health care, and respite care. The focus on long-term care is to provide an environment assisting with treatments plans, personal up keep and rehabilitation. As the largest part of our growing population reaches retirement age, several new questions and issues have arose. Financially, long term health has is an ever growing concern of the elder population and those who have accepted the financial burden. A large portion of the economy struggles with the cost of the ever rising prices of health care. The economy has been hindered with financial difficulty and it has had several implications on the ways we spend our money. For some of the baby boomers, it has left them with no choice but to continue to work in order to provide. For others, it has left them no option but to live with family members or seek assistants elsewhere. Income has evolved into a stressor for elders planning retirement.
Taking care of the individuals that are getting older takes many different needs. Most of these needs cannot be given from the help of a family. This causes the need of having to put your love one into a home and causing for the worry of how they will be treated. It is important for the family and also the soon to be client to feel at home in their new environment. This has been an issue with the care being provided for each individual, which has lead to the need of making sure individuals have their own health care plan.
Life event such as retirement could cause social isolation. Most elderly people are vulnerable and living in isolation. They are not physically active. They are lonely and they have minimal contact and access to things around them. Living in isolation can impact the lives of elderly, which can then lead to suicide. It is true that different types of diseases emerges during late adulthood, but I am not really knowledgeable about those diseases because it is not as rampant as it is in western world in comparison to Nigeria, my home
Upon growing older there are many decisions to be made. Among one of the most difficult and perhaps most important decisions is where the elder person will live and how long-term care needs will be met when he/she is no longer capable of doing so independently due to the incapacity that accompanies many with old age. Nursing homes seem to be the popular choice for people no matter the race, gender, or socioeconomic status with 1.5 million Americans being admitted to them yearly.[3] Because nursing homes are in such a high demand and are not cheap, $77.9 billion was spent for nursing home care in the United States in 2010 alone, they are under criticism of many professions including the legal profession, which is in the process of establishing elder law as a defense to issues with in the elder community. Nursing homes have a duty to provide many things to the elderly including medical, social, pharmaceutical, and dietary services so that the individual may maintain the highest well-being possible.[4] Stated another way 'a nursing facility must care for its residents in such a manner and in such an environment as will promote maintenance or enhancement of the q...
With advanced technologies in health care, the average lifespan of humans is around eighty-eight years, and these numbers are growing rapidly. Most elderly outnumber the younger within our population now, and with more of the baby boomer generation reaching the gold years, this number will rise exponentially. The cost of healthcare rising and the amount of Medicare funds decreasing makes caring for that loved one challenging. Statistics by Dr. Feng presented, “Individuals are living much longer; family structures are changing; women have entered the workforce. With no national health insurance program like Medicare and with the one-child policy that places elder care responsibilities on fewer shoulders” (Dr Feng). To some, the question of placing an elderly family member in long-term care facilities is a difficult one to consider. All too many times the elderly abandoned are not seeing families until visitation funeral ceremonies.
Aging and old age for a long time presented as dominated by negative traits and states such as sickness, depression and isolation. The aging process is not simply senescence most people over the age of 65 are not Senile, bedridden, isolated, or suicidal (Aldwin & Levenson, 1994). This change in perspective led the investigation of the other side of the coin. Ageing is seen as health, maturity and personal Royal growth, self-acceptance, happiness, generatively, coping and acceptance of age-related constraints (Birren & Fisher, 1995). Psychological und...
No one ever expects to live out his or her later years in life in a nursing home. When people are young they may not realize the obstacles in life that may cause them not to have a place or person to spend their older years in life with. Regrettably, many of the elderly are not treated with the care and respect they deserve. “Poor quality of care is endemic in many nursing homes” (Fernandez, 2011). It is the responsibility of the younger generation to make sure that the elderly are taken care of and that neglect does not happen. Nursing homes have too many patients and not enough care-givers compared to home care that has familiar one on one care. Home-based
Traditionally, in numerous societies as mothers and fathers grow older, their offspring physically repay their debts, emotionally and financially to their parents. They take care of them. In spite of the fact that this continues today in modern and postmodern societies families have themselves changed thus have the baselines of support and care. Increasingly, in numerous societies individuals come to live all alone or are placed in nursing care homes as they grow older there is placing an increased demand on the aged care system, as well as several health inequalities. As the health and wellbeing needs of a growing and ageing population, there will be an increasing demand for the services of health professionals.
America is a country where everyone is free to live however they like, but it is possible for some people to live a happy life, if no one is around to take care of them. Nearly three hundred million people reside in the America, and out of those three hundred million populations, senior citizens make a 12 percent of the entire population. A senior citizen is commonly known as a person who is over the age of 65 and living on retirement, or known as social security benefits (Census Bureau). Ever since Franklin D. Roosevelt implied the act of Social Security in 1935, seniors are regularly provided a financial help, but seniors, along with financial help, seeks also accompany of someone who can look after them. Because of constantly growing needs of senior citizens, government as well as many non-profit organizations is working on helping seniors. Therefore I decided to research on this particular issue in my community, and I found that 64.5% of seniors are living alone in metropolitan area of Atlanta.
While being social has many benefits to the health of a person, it can have a negative effect if there is any financial stress, increased burdens, or ailing family member or partner (Annear et al., 2012). Caring for others as an elderly person can have both negative and positive effects while providing companionship and a sense of purpose, it can also make the elderly carers life more stressful and can sometimes make the carer feel emotionally isolated (Annear et al., 2012). Joining social groups will get encourage participation and interaction with other members of their social group; this will help in minimising the potential for social isolation and detachment. Barriers to having an active social health are living in rural or remote areas, long distances to services and social networks. It is important for elderly people to feel they still have some form of connection with their friends and family and feel that are still connect to