The Tea Tree Gully strategy - Assignment Example

Age and Health What does the Tea Tree Gully strategy hope to achieve with its older citizens? Ageing has been traditionally related with a seriesof severe health problems. There are also many other aspects of ageing (financial, social and so on) which can create turbulences in the national economy if there is no appropriate provision for the needs of older people within a specific country. In the case of Australia it has been found that “increasing age is related to long-term health conditions, higher rates of disability and poorer reported health status; population ageing, and the health of older people, is likely to impact on the overall health status of the Australian community” [1]. The financial aspect of ageing is not highlighted in the above survey (published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics) perhaps because it has been considered that health is a priority and that the existed financial support for elderly in the country is sufficient - in accordance with the needs of the specific part of the population. On the other hand, it is noticed that “not all countries are experiencing the same population changes; of all 32 OECD countries, in 2020, Australia is projected to have the 13th lowest proportion of people aged 65 years or more in the population (16%), with the highest ratio in Japan (26%), and the lowest in Turkey (7%)’[1]. The difference in the population changes across the countries worldwide can be explained by the existence of different provisions for the support (financial, social and so on) of elderly in each particular country. The City of Tea Tree Gully has taken specific measures for the improvement of older people’s lives. In fact, in accordance with the City’s official website, the life of the older residents is a significant issue which has been taken into consideration by the authorities of the particular City. Moreover, it is noticed that the City has a major role in the improvement of the lives of its older residents acting ‘either as an organisation that provides services to them, or acts as an advocate for them or as a policy maker and partner organisation to other government and non-government services’ [2]. For this reason the City proceeded to the design and the implementation of an ‘Ageing Strategy’ which will help ‘service providers, policy developers, businesses and the broader community to understand the diversity of interests and abilities of older people’ [2]. It is also noticed that the above strategy has been designed in cooperation with older people and their families. The general vision of this strategy is based on a series of values, the most important of which are the following ones: ‘a) Full citizenship and the right of all citizens to have access to and benefit from the opportunities presented within the City of Tea Tree; b) Participatory planning and encouraging older people to be actively engaged in decision making; c) Facilitating healthy ageing and wellbeing; and d) Recognising and responding to the needs and interests of people from diverse cultures and backgrounds, including indigenous people’ [2]. The application of these values when designing the ‘Ageing Strategy’ can ensure the effectiveness of the measures included in the relevant scheme. Through the above values, the City can ensure the improvement of its older residents’ lives in the long term. It should be noticed here that this Strategy refers to the years 2001-2011 including provisions and forecasts for the development of population in Australia the years that follow (see also Appendix). On the other hand, the ‘Ageing Strategy’ focuses on eleven ‘key areas’, the following ones: ‘1. Leadership, Representation and Advocacy; 2. Strategic Alliances; 3. Planning, Design and Development; 4. Community Care and Support; 5. Community Perception of Older People; 6. Networking Capability; 7. Information Provision; 8. Community Transport; 9. Health and Wellbeing; 10. Lifelong Learning and Active Lifestyles; 11. Employment and Voluntary Work’ [2]. Each of these ‘key areas’ refers to particular aspects of older people’s lives covering all areas of social and financial activities of elderly in the specific country. The above key areas can guarantee the effectiveness of the relevant strategy. Moreover, if the above ‘key areas’ are combined with the ‘values’ mentioned above (on which the Ageing Strategy has been based) they can lead to the creation of an effective ‘Ageing policy’ within the Australian territory. The structure and the extension of the ‘Ageing Strategy’ in Australia shows that caring for elderly is a priority for the country’s government and for the local communities. This is a significant indication if taking into account that a major percentage of the country’s population in a few years will be older people (the percentage of people aged 85+ has been estimated to be increased by 79% by the year 2011, see Table 1, Appendix). 2. Develop 2 theoretical explanations (one paragraph for each) regarding why older ‘citizens’ in our society have and still are subject to devaluing, notions of ‘burden, stereotyping and poor care’ provision Older citizens have been traditionally considered as a part of the population with particular characteristics. In this context, issues of discrimination tend to appear regarding elderly not only in Australia but in all countries around the world. In accordance with the most common perspectives related with the position of elderly within the modern society, older people should be related with specific social stereotypes and even regarded as a ‘burden’ to the development of local economies. Regarding the above, the following two theoretical explanations represent the modern perspective for older people in modern society: a) Ageism and Stereotyping Older people have been related with a series of social ‘stereotypes’. In this context, the following concerns have been stated in relation with the position of older people in society: ‘a) Old people should retire; theyre taking jobs from young people; b) Old people are clogging up the health service; c) Old people arent able to learn new things’ (Health in Australia, Part II, Introduction). The above stereotypes are highlighted by the media through which health professionals often refer to the consequences of ageing in the productivity of people and their role in the society. Moreover, it is noticed by Saunders (1996, 48) that ‘the ability of frail older people to continue to live at home will itself become more problematic, possibly even no longer viable’. Under these terms, older people should be ‘excluded’ from the social events and all aspects of modern social life as they do not have the appropriate ‘physical and mental health’ to participate actively in the particular social activities. However, the above assumption should be strongly criticized as of its credibility mostly because older people tend to participate in all social events showing a high interest for all issues within their society – an aspect which is totally different from the one presented by the science and the literature. b) Dependency and Burden Another common view for older people is that the specific part of the population can become a ‘burden’ to the development of the national economy. In fact, part of the health – related statistics for the years 2001 to 2005 in Australia can be used to support the above assumption. More specifically, in accordance with a relevant survey in the above country ‘in 2005 many older people rated their health as good (32%), and more than a third rated their health as very good to excellent (36%) - an increase from 2001 (32%); however, these rates are lower than for younger people aged 18 to 64 years where 28% rated their health as good, and more than half rated their health as very good to excellent (59%)’ [1]. On the other hand, in the same survey it has been found that “in 2003, 56% of all older persons had a reported disability, with 22% having a profound or severe core activity limitation; this is in contrast to younger people where 15% had a reported disability, and 4% having a profound or severe core activity limitation” [1]. The relation of age with the economy has been examined in the literature where it is stated that “the chances of being financially secure in old age are directly related to ones class position in society, because this influences the type of work done, the financial rewards received, and the ability to accrue savings and investments’ (Health in Australia, Part II, Aspects of Ageing). In other words, older people are in their majority of low income and only a small percentage has a significant wealth. For this reason, countries around the world have developed special programs for the financial support of older people. In Australia, this program named ‘the Age Pension’ and refers to people aged 65+. It should be noticed that the pension provided to older people through this scheme is ‘the main source of income for three-quarters of all old people’ (Health in Australia, Part II, Income Support). In accordance with the above, older people could be perhaps regarded as a ‘burden’ for the development of the national economy. However, such an assumption should not be valid because there are also other parts of the population that need the financial support of the state (women, children, and people suffering from chronic diseases or disabilities). In this context, age should not be regarded as the only criterion for the provision of financial or other support by the state. For this reason, older people should not be ‘excluded’ by the social activities but they should be regarded as having equal rights with all other parts of the population in each specific country. References Australian Bureau of Statistics, Health of Older People in Australia, a snapshot: 2004-2005, available at http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/ProductsbyReleaseDate/A4993D98993EBDABCA2571F60017A8A2?OpenDocument [1] City of Tea Tree Gully, Ageing Policy 2000-2011, available at http://www.teatreegully.sa.gov.au/binaries?img=1653&stypen=html [2] Health in Australia, Chapter Seven, ‘Ageing and Health’ Saunders, P. (1996) Dawning of a new age? The extent, causes and consequences of ageing in Australia, available at http://www.sprc.unsw.edu.au/dp/dp075.pdf Appendix Table 1 – Age growth in City of Tea Tree Gully for the years 2001-2011 (source: official (City’s) website, [1]) Read More