Aging In Nigeria

1483 Words3 Pages

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 …show more content…

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

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