Older Population as a Vulnerable Group - Essay Example

? Older Population as a Vulnerable Group Introduction The explosive technological developments in the field of medicine over the last few decades have significantly improved health status of people, particularly in economically developed countries like the U.S and the UK. Those developments and innovations were capable of increasing the life expectancy of people, and this situation in turn resulted in a phenomenon called population ageing. The older population is a vulnerable group, and this group’s vulnerability is a combination of three factors like health status, cognitive ability, and social support (Kim and Geistfeld). Older people are likely to be affected by issues like loneliness, stress, and depression. Therefore, they are increasingly exposed to deception and fraud. This paper will explore the social, psychological, and environmental factors contributing to older adults’ vulnerability. This will also identify certain appropriate resources available for assisting this vulnerable group. Older Population Population ageing is a process where a country’s median age rises due to increasing life expectancy and/or decreasing birth rates. In economically developed countries like the UK and the U.S, rising life expectancy is the major cause leading to population ageing. Recently, even less economically developed countries have also improved their life expectancy and significantly contribute population ageing. Growing life expectancy is the prime cause of population ageing in the world except in 18 countries which are ‘demographic outliers’ according to the United Nations (Watkins). While considering the entire recorded human history, the world has never seen an aged population as presently one existing worldwide. According to the Department of Economic and Social Affairs, “population ageing is unprecedented, without parallel in human history – and the twenty first century will witness even more rapid ageing than did the century just past” (“World Population Ageing..”) The problem of population ageing is growing to be a potential threat to the social as well as economic development of the United Kingdom. According to the Care Quality Commission, currently over 10 million people in the UK are aged over 65 and it is expected that nearly 19 million people will be above 65 by 2050. The Department of Health indicates that an individual over 85 is approximately three times more expensive to health care as compared to a person between the ages of 65 and 75 ("More than 10 million people..”). Although the UK government has framed extensive mechanisms to ensure rapid and quality care for the older population, the needs of a notable percent of aging people still go unnoticed. Causes of vulnerability The fast growth of the older population raises great challenges to the wellbeing of the old age people because they are exposed to various vulnerabilities. It is identified that older population is increasingly prone to vulnerabilities like exploitation, abuse, and negligence by others. Referring to the words of Kim and Geistfeld, older population constitutes a vulnerable group and they are “more susceptible to unscrupulous business practices than younger groups” ("What makes older adults vulnerable...). The authors continue that the older population often becomes the target group for fraud because one can easily convince them. Scholars indicate that older individuals’ loneliness increases their vulnerability to fraudulent business transactions to a considerable extent. Psychological practitioners suggest that old age people are greatly in need of social interactions, and this is the reason why older consumers could be easily convinced by telemarketers. Majority of the older people have little market knowledge, and this weakness increases their susceptibility to fraud. It is awful to see that many of the old age people are not aware of the risk of losing ownership once payments are not made in time. Furthermore, they do not know whom they should contact in case they need help. Similarly, older people are likely to be deceived in the financial market because they lack financial management skills. As authors like Braunstein and Welch point, it is very important to have proper knowledge in many key financial transactions ranging from purchasing products to financing retirement. The older population’s financial illiteracy is worsened by frequent technological changes, market innovation and increased consumer responsibilities. The most sorrowful situation is that most of the older people even do not recognise that they have been victims of financial fraud. Even though they recognise that they were deceived, they are less likely to report the fraud because those people have greater psychological costs of complaining. Generally older people are affected by various diseases and they have limited physical mobility. As a result of these problems, they often fail to keep pace with the busy modern life. Since old age people have difficulties in searching for information, they cannot easily make decisions in a rapidly changing environment. Metabolic and other physical changes in old age significantly reduce individuals’ ability to lead a normal life and to maintain independence. In addition, eye problems are very common in old age. Eye specialists state that over 21 percent of people above the age of 65 are struggling with some degree of visual impairment. Hearing loss is another common health issue among elderly people and this issue in turn may result in confusion and disorientation. Limited physical mobility, lack of independence, loneliness, and other bitter parts of the old age may cause this group to experience some form of depression. As Williams and Kemper point out, older adults usually face issues like declining cognitive flexibility, reasoning skills, and memory capacity and this situation in turn cause them to experience information processing and problem-solving difficulties. To illustrate, elderly consumers often fail to respond properly to product information and are not likely to identify the intended use of products advertised. Several studies point that older people have difficulties analysing comparative information and thereby forming a potential conclusion. Since older adults have less social interactions, they are affected by stress. Issues like poor health, retirement, and loss of spouse and relatives would cause older individuals to undergo social isolation, which is a key problem increasing the vulnerability of the elderly population. Most of people over the age of 65 may not be in physical condition to get a job, and hence they live as unemployed individuals. Evidently, this situation limits older adults’ financial freedom, and consequently they may face negligence. Probably older people will need to depend on others, and therefore they are likely to have strong social networks. In short, various age-related issues in an older population make them vulnerable to a broad range of difficulties. How to improve the situation? Developed countries like the U K and the U.S have framed extensive settings like a retirement home and palliative care to assist the older population to manage their age-related difficulties and thereby to get rid of issues like stress, depression, and social isolation. A retirement home, often referred to old people’s home, is a multi-purpose housing facility intended for older adults. Each individual or couple residing in a retirement home is provided with suite rooms in addition to other facilities like meals, recreation activities, and hospice care. Today people find the retirement home as a convenient facility to take care of their parents who are suffering from age-related difficulties. According to Pell Research report, the number of retirement homes in the United States has increased from around 11,000 in 2003 to 12,000 in 2010 ("Retirement & Nursing Homes..”). Similarly, palliative care is a healthcare facility formed to relieve the suffering of patients. It is identified that most of the older adults living today have developed different lifestyle health problems like cholesterol, diabetes, and/or stroke. The end stages of such health problems are generally painful, and it may be beyond the suffering ability of older people. Under such circumstances, palliative care can be a better option for the elderly population. Palliative medicine is appropriate for all patients irrespective of what disease they have and which disease stage they are in. The palliative care adopts a multidisciplinary approach to patient care and this facility utilise the service of physicians, nurses, pharmacists, psychologists, social workers, and other allied health professionals. Government-run organisation can play a crucial role in promoting the wellbeing of the older population. It is clear that the level of protection needed varies in accordance with the level of vulnerability. Here, the government can use various socioeconomic and demographic variables to identify the level of vulnerability among older adults and thereby to take necessary actions on a priority basis. Currently, the UK government operates a number of facilities to improve the living standards of the elderly people. It is good to see that the government has created huge funds for the financing needs of older adults. Government based institutions may be more effective to address the needs of this vulnerable population because such facilities are cheaply and easily available. In 2001, the UK government has launched a health plan called National Service Framework (NSF) for Older People so as to efficiently deal with population ageing. This facility closely works with NHS organisations, local councils, and the private sector to deliver improved health services to the older adults. This plan includes a 10-year programme which covers the full range of care an elderly individual needs ("National service framework for older people."). In addition, numerous social interest groups and charity organisations are working in the country to meet the growing needs of older population effectively on time. Those voluntary organisations pay particular attention to the needs the elderly people who are struggling economically or who cannot afford to stay in a retirement home. Finally, it is possible for older people to obtain the support of home nurses who are specifically trained to manage particular age-related problems in older adults. There are many home nursing institutions in the UK that provide quality health services to older people for a specific period. Current situation While assessing the current health sector practices in UK, it seems that the identified needs of the older adults are addressed effectively despite some negligible pitfalls. The government sector and private sector health organisations working in the country work efficiently to enhance the wellbeing of the nation’s older population. The UK’s National Health Service (NHS), which comprises of four government-funded healthcare systems like National Health Service, Health and Social Care in Northern Ireland, NHS Scotland, and NHS Wales, notably contributes to old age care in the United Kingdom. The primary funding source of UK NHS is central taxation and the organisation’s majority of the services are free for the citizens of the UK. Since all these four systems operate under different management, political authority, and rules, they are independent enough to frame improved policies that are in line with the interests of older adults (Harker). Age UK, the registered charity in the UK established on 25th February 2009 is specifically operating to improve the living conditions of the older population in the country. According to a BBC radio report, the Age UK plays a significant role in combining and co-ordinating the operations of charities like ‘Age Concern’ and ‘Help the Aged’ to form the nation’s largest charity for the older population ("Help the Aged and Age Concern England."). The Age UK Enterprises mainly try to address market limitation and thereby to provide greater value for money. To illustrate, Age UK insurance plans do not put upper age limits with intent to spread its services to whole older population. Application of the knowledge Since education and family background can be greatly associated with the vulnerability among older adults, it is important to design special educational programmes to improve the level of elder vulnerability. In addition, it is recommendable for authorities concerned to enhance interventions to address conditions like limited physical mobility, cognitive impairment, and weak social network in order to reduce the life stress of older people. Strengthening social network through linking older individuals or older adults with young persons in a community would be a potential way to decrease elder vulnerability. Frequent social interaction programmes must be introduced to address the needs of lonely older adults. Evidently strengthened social network will reduce the older individuals’ exposure to fraudulent business advertisements and deceitful financial market transactions. It is advisable to develop specific mechanisms to improve the mobility of older people. Conclusion From the above discussion, it is clear that older population is a vulnerable group mainly because of their limited physical mobility, cognitive impairment, and weakened social networks. Proper educational and social interaction programs may provide older adults with increased social support. Such programmes will reduce their vulnerability to fraud, deception, abuse, and exploitation. Works Cited Braunstein, Sandra and Carolyn, Welch. “Financial Literacy: an overview of practice, research, and policy”. Federal Reserve Bulletin, 88.11 (2002): 445-457. Department of Economics and Social Affairs Population Division. “World Population Ageing: 1950-2050." un.org, Web. 26 Nov 2013. Read More