Vulnerable Populations And Self Assessment - Research Paper Example

?Vulnerable populations and self assessment Introduction: identification of the population Vulnerable populations in accordance to the definition given by the oxford dictionary are those that can be wounded or hurt or the population of the society that are open to be hurt by criticism or by attack of other groups. The Belmont report of the year 1972 defined vulnerable population as the groups that because of their availability in the areas of the researches being conducted like hospitals, institutions, camps as well as prisons might sometimes bear the burden of the research that are unequal and thus there is the requirement of extra protection for these groups. The vulnerable populations of the society are generally the weaker sections like the women, children, the poor or the elderly people along with those who are mentally incapacitated. The vulnerable groups are not able to obtain and the use the rights of the society that they are entitled to by the declaration of the constitutional rights. (Ravindran, n.d: Chatterjee and Sheoran, 2007, pp 1- 6) In the last few decades the life expectancy of the general population of the society has experienced a significance increase. In most developed and the developing countries of the world with the following trend the life expectancy is assumed to experience a general increase over 80 years. Thus the elderly populations of the society are increasing. However the fast modern lives of the working population as well as the youths the person of providing cares to these elderly population of the society are on a considerable decrease. (Amrita institute of Medical Sciences, n.d) Thus the Geriatric population of the society is the vulnerable group chosen for the study. Demographics of the vulnerable population In the year 1900 the rate of life expectancy at birth was measured to be 47.3 years which experienced a considerable increase to 78 years in the year 2009. The populations of the geriatrics are experiencing a considerable increase with the improvement in the health care facilities and innovations of modern medicines. Over 20 percent of the total population of the United States of America is expected to be belonging to more than 65 years of age by the year 2030. Moreover the geriatric population of the developed countries more specifically that of the United States of America are also experiencing diversity in the ethnicity of the population. The likelihood of living alone of the geriatric population also experience increase with their aging. Maximum of the elderly population live in communities with only 4 to 5 percent of the population of age group more than 65 years live in nursing home or other medical institutes as studied from the geriatric population of the American society. The general support systems for this section of the society are generally their family members, friends along with neighbors. However certain other support system also exits in modern societies that are the old age homes or the elder care agencies as well as the age centers (Gleich, 2009). In fact Sperry & Prosen (1996) rightly says that aging is basically a developmental course, and the elderly population would be addressed in a better way provided “theorists, clinicians, and researchers develop more positive images of aging”. This leads to a standard shift in our philosophy about the elderly person. to make this effective it is important to “confront the myths and misconceptions we have about aging and carefully consider the ever-increasing evidence that aging is in fact a development process” (Sperry & Prosen, 1996, p.3). They are characterized with negative thinking, low productivity and weakened health condition. With more health care facilities and social security provided to the section of the society the population with age more than 65, living below the poverty level have declined to about 9.8 percent in the year 2004 which is expected to experience more decrease in recent future. Study reveals that 36 percent of the total health care cost of the American society is borne by the geriatric population of the society. (Gleich, 2009) Ageing requires more of the adjustment factor in order to experience a successful transition. One may seek support of friends and family members and build the support system. One needs to take good care of oneself. Adaptation to changes is the key to development Ageing may be taken positively. A successful geriatric stage often follows from the success in the previous stages of life. (Coan 2005) Personal Awareness of the geriatrics My personal experience of the geriatric population of the society has been mainly through the experience of working as weekend supervisor in the long term care facility. Working and observing the care of these elderly residents of the society helps in gaining the experience. A specific person has been selected from the virtual neighborhood created for the class. His name is George Murphy. He is a geriatric gentleman who attends the local centre for the seniors of the society. The son and the daughter of the gentleman have been forcing him to sell the house where he and his wife lived for twenty years. The senior centre worker has been made aware of this. They are asking him to move to the assisted living facility after selling the asset. This idea of his children has hurt him and he refused to move to the assisted living facility. The conversation of the senior centre worker and Mr Murphy has been overheard by another senior of the centre named Betty and it is she who offered him to live with her. Thus the problem with the geriatric section of the society is to decide whether to live alone or in the assistance provided by the care centers. The elders are often unrealistic and sentimental regarding leaving their own house and hence deny the need for the assistance which they may be needed with aging. However the decisions of their family members are also often inconsiderate to the feelings and the requirements of these people which hurt their feelings. Personal evaluations Age of an individual is not always the accurate predictor of the condition of the individual. The common problem that the geriatrics of the society experiences reflects the growing differences in the direction of thinking and choice between the younger generation of the society and the elders. Most of the young generations of the society leave their place of birth in search of better employment opportunities. Moreover they are habituated of living separate life away from their parents. Thus the elderly populations of the society are left to be alone. However the young generations are concerned about the health care and continuous medical observation that are required for the elderly generation with age. In regards to their concerns in most cases they often suggest the geriatrics to leave in old age homes or in assistance to certain other health care delivery system of the society where they can be under the observation and the optimal care of the medical professionals. Though such thinking is ethical and benevolent on their part these decisions in certain cases affect the sentiments of the elderly and their choice of living independently in their own property. Better knowledge regarding the health care facilities and systems available in the society could have been helpful for the geriatrics in evaluating the decisions of the young generation of the society. The health care system of most developed and developing countries have experienced a considerable improvement and a revolutionary change. These institutions have more recently focused on the provision of more homely environment in order to overcome the depression levels of the elderly patients living away from their owns. However certain study reveals that the changes in the health care process in certain societies have been minimal, contributing to the inefficiency in health care delivery system which is in most cases been ineffective. The increases in the cost of the healthcare globally have been due to this inefficiency to some extent (Wickramasinghe and Schaffer, 2006, p 164). Thus knowledge regarding this inefficiency of the health care delivery could also evolve the decision made by the young generation regarding shifting their parents out of their residence. Mr. Murphy have been in a situation of fighting with the sentiments and the feelings associated with living in his twenty year old house where he had all the sweet memories of his life and the decision of his children for providing him in a situation of better health care facilities that he may need with ageing. Both of them are ethical and considerate in their respective thinking; however it may be felt that the medical attention that Mr. Murphy might need will be provided by the health care system of the country that have improved considerably. The demography of the geriatric population of the society reveals that with the advancement of the technologies the life expectancy rate of the population experienced a considerable increase and thus the living of the geriatric section of the society had been smooth with the innovations of modern medicines and technologies. Moreover various therapies like the Music therapy are often in use in systems of health care now for making the lives of these care needed section of the society more colorful and effective stimulating their quest for more living and overcoming the depression of loneliness that is associated with ageing. The geriatric sections of the society are in need of cooperation and mental support from their dear ones, ignorance of which hurts their feelings and it may often results in cases of depression. However with the improvement of technology and facilities there have been innovative ways of helping then to overcome this stage. Since the younger population might be apprehensive about being able to provide proper care to them at their places considering the busy lifestyle or professional bindings. Hence a door to door service and home based care facility could resolve the problem. This could be coupled with some medical insurance benefits for this population. Thus covering up the inefficiencies the health care facilities can be a good option for the geriatric section of the society in helping them living happily and cheerfully. References Amrita institute of Medical Sciences, (n.d), Geriatrics, retrieved on 24th May, 2011 from http://www.aimshospital.org/hospital/Geriatrics/Geriatrics.php Coan, G. (2005) Negotiating Difficult Life Transitions. EzineArticles, available at: http://ezinearticles.com/?Negotiating-Difficult-Life-Transitions&id=9419 [accessed on February 22 2008] Chatterjee, C, and G, Sheoran, (2007), Vulnerable Groups in India, The Centre for Enquiry into Health and Allied themes, retrieved on 24th May, 2011 from http://www.cehat.org/humanrights/vulnerable.pdf Gleich, G, (2009), Demographics of Aging and Geriatric Syndromes, retrieved on 24th May, 2011 from http://www.umassmed.edu/uploadedFiles/Gleich%20Large%20Group%20Demographics%20of%20Aging%20%20Geriatric%20Syndromes%202009.pdf Ravindran, G, D, (n.d), Vulnerable Populations in research, St. Johns National academy of Health Sciences Bangalore, retrieved on 24th May, 2011 from http://www.icmr.nic.in/bioethics/cc_biothics/presentations/int_chennai/Vulnerable%20Populations%20in%20research.pdf Sperry, L. and Prosen, H. (1996). Aging in the twenty-first century: A developmental perspective. New York: Garland Publishing,Inc Wickramasinghe, N and J, L, Schaffer,( 2006),Creating knowledge-driven healthcare processes with the Intelligence Continuum, International journal of Electronic Healthcare, retrieved on 24th May, 2011 from http://www.inderscience.com/search/index.php?action=record&rec_id=8830 Read More