scholarly journals The Darker Side of Ageing: Towards an Ethics of Suffering that Emphasises the Primacy of Witnessing

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Els van Wijngaarden
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Old Age ◽  
Social Isolation ◽  
Meaning In Life ◽  
Oldest Old ◽  
Empirical Work ◽  
Worth Living ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Deep Sense ◽  
Probing Questions

AbstractMany older adults succeed in finding meaning in life, even in deep old age. There is, however, a minority of older adults, in particular among the oldest old, who feel that life no longer makes sense: they suffer from the consequences of old age, explicated in feelings of loneliness, social isolation and disconnectedness, and fears for (further) decline and dependency. This article seeks to address this darker side of ageing. It discusses probing questions including: what can we learn from the stories of those who severely struggle with the consequences of old age? And how might these stories guide us in finding ways how we – both as fellow human beings and as a society – can face and respond to suffering in old age? To achieve this, this article first briefly outlines the scholarship on suffering and explores the idea of suffering from life in old age. Secondly, drawing on empirical work, it reflects on the phenomenological question: what is it like to suffer from life in old age? What does it mean to live with a deep sense that life is no longer worth living? Then, thirdly, building on these insights, the aim is to work towards developing an ethics of suffering that emphasises the primacy of witnessing. It is argued that in the confrontation with manifestations of meaninglessness and suffering that cannot be solved or remedied, we need bystanders who are willing to name, to narrate, to give voice and connect to these experiences of suffering.

The ‘loneliness pandemic’: implications for gerontological nursing

2021 ◽  
Vol 30 (11) ◽  
pp. 652-655
Author(s):  
Carlos Laranjeira
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
Older People ◽  
Chronic Diseases ◽  
Old Age ◽  
Social Isolation ◽  
Social Relationships ◽  
Vulnerable Groups ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
Gerontological Nursing

The COVID-19 pandemic compelled states to limit free movement, in order to protect at-risk and more vulnerable groups, particularly older adults. Due to old age or debilitating chronic diseases, this group is also more vulnerable to loneliness (perceived discrepancy between actual and desired social relationships) and social isolation (feeling that one does not belong to society). This forced isolation has negative consequences for the health of older people, particularly their mental health. This is an especially challenging time for gerontological nursing, but it is also an opportunity for professionals to combat age stereotypes reinforced with COVID-19, to urge the measurement of loneliness and social isolation, and to rethink how to further adjust interventions in times of crisis, such as considering technology-mediated interventions in these uncertain times.

Mental Health and Older Adults

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hee Yun Lee ◽  
William Hasenbein ◽  
Priscilla Gibson
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
Old Age ◽  
Social Isolation ◽  
Older Adult ◽  
Adult Population ◽  
Depression And Anxiety ◽  
Health Issues ◽  
Mental Health Issues ◽  
Older Adult Population

As the older adult population continues to grow at a rapid rate, with an estimated 2.1 billion older adults in 2050, social welfare researchers are determined to fill the shortage of gerontological social workers and structural lag to best serve the baby boomers who are expected to need different services than previous generations. Mental illness impacts over 20% of older adults in the world and the United States. The major mental health issues in older adults include depression, anxiety, loneliness, and social isolation. Depression is considered one of the most common mental health issues among this population; however, the prevalence could be underestimated due to older adults linking relevant symptoms to other causes, such as old age, instead of as possible depression. Like depression, anxiety symptoms are often mistaken as results of aging. It is also difficult for providers to diagnose anxiety in this population due to anxiety frequently being coupled with other illnesses and the psychological stress that comes with old age. Because the presence of loneliness or social isolation can manifest depression and anxiety symptoms in older adults, it is also difficult to separate these two issues. With the anticipated increase of the older adult population within the next few years, measurement tools have been created to assess depression and anxiety specifically for older adults. In addition to adapting assessment tools, interventions tailored to older adults are essential to ensure treatment coherence, even though medications are the go-to treatment option.

Chronic Mental Illness in Old Age Homes

2019 ◽  
pp. 509-527
Author(s):  
Shamsi Akbar ◽  
Hitesh Khurana
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
Old Age ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Developmental Process ◽  
Living Arrangement ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Care Family ◽  
And Migration ◽  
Old Age Homes

Aging is a part of natural developmental process in the life of any living being. For human beings it is not just a biological phenomenon but it has psychological and social implications too. Some of the areas that would be affected include those related to health and health care, family composition, living arrangement, housing and migration. As a result of these socio-demographic evolutions and situations, older adults at times are forced to shift from their own homes to institutions/ Old age homes OAH. Living in OAH evokes a picture of apathy, dependence, and sadness which make the older adults increasingly vulnerable to mental health problems. Further there is also a strong need to develop suitable strategies to implement better mental health programmes and guidelines for the CMI in old age homes.

scholarly journals LA VIOLENCIA INTRAFAMILIAR EN EL ADULTO MAYOR

2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 81
Author(s):  
Juan Fernando Olloa Cuellar ◽  
Marcelo Barcia Briones
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Domestic Violence ◽  
Old Age ◽  
Physical Violence ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Close Relative ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Calidad De Vida ◽  
Victims Of Violence

En el ciclo de vida del ser humano cuando se llega a la etapa de la vejez o adultos mayores, muchas veces estos son víctimas de violencia por parte de su familia o cuidadores, disminuyendo la calidad de vida de las personas en la etapa de vejez y que también afectara a su familia cercana. En este estudio se determina la prevalencia de la violencia intrafamiliar en el adulto mayor y que miembro de la familia ejerce esta violencia. Consiguientemente se realizó un estudio de tipo cualitativo, descriptivo de corte transversal. La muestra escogida fue de 50 adultos mayores de ambos sexos. Para la recolección de datos se utilizó una encuesta con 20 preguntas cerradas y una entrevista psicológica. Los resultados muestran que existe violencia intrafamiliar hacia el adulto mayor en el 26%indica que es la violencia económica, seguida del 22% que manifiesta que existe negligencia y abandono de sus familiares, el mismo porcentaje de 22% se obtiene en violencia física, mientras que el 20% es psicológica y 10% de violencia sexual. Por lo tanto, se puede determinar que en el adulto mayor se ejerce la violencia intrafamiliar en todas sus formas, siendo la económica la que prevalece sobre el resto de violencias, así mismo se determina que los agresores son en la mayoría de veces un familiar cercano entre los cuales se encuentran los hijos/as, esposo/sa, Se prevé que la tendencia de la violencia hacia el adulto mayor continúe porque según las estadísticas a nivel mundial el grupo etario de los adultos mayores va en aumento por motivo del envejecimiento de la población. PALABRAS CLAVE: Adulto mayor; violencia intrafamiliar; vejez. INTRAPHAMILIARY VIOLENCE IN THE OLDER ADULTS ABSTRACT In the life cycle of human beings when they reach the stage of old age or older adults, these are often victims of violence by their families or caregivers, diminishing the quality of life of people in old age and also affecting their close family. This study determines the prevalence of domestic violence in the elderly and which family member uses this violence. A qualitative, cross-sectional, descriptive study was carried out. The sample chosen was 50 older adults of both sexes. A survey with 20 closed-ended questions and a psychological interview were used to collect the data. The results show that there is intrafamily violence towards the elderly in 26% indicates that it is economic violence, followed by 22% who state that there is negligence and abandonment of their relatives, the same percentage of 22% is obtained in physical violence, while 20% is psychological and 10% sexual violence. Therefore, it can be determined that domestic violence is perpetrated in all its forms in older adults, with the economic form prevailing over other forms of violence. It is also determined that the aggressors are in most cases a close relative, including their children and spouse. KEYWORDS: Older adults; domestic violence; old age.

scholarly journals The Role of Social Isolation and the Development of Depression. A Comparison of the Widowed and Married Oldest Old in Germany

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (13) ◽  
pp. 6986
Author(s):  
Franziska Förster ◽  
Melanie Luppa ◽  
Alexander Pabst ◽  
Kathrin Heser ◽  
Luca Kleineidam ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Network ◽  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Old Age ◽  
Social Isolation ◽  
Mixed Models ◽  
Oldest Old ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Impact

Widowhood is common in old age, can be accompanied by serious health consequences and is often linked to substantial changes in social network. Little is known about the impact of social isolation on the development of depressive symptoms over time taking widowhood into account. We provide results from the follow-up 5 to follow-up 9 from the longitudinal study AgeCoDe and its follow-up study AgeQualiDe. Depression was measured with GDS-15 and social isolation was assessed using the Lubben Social Network Scale (LSNS-6). The group was aligned of married and widowed people in old age and education through entropy balancing. Linear mixed models were used to examine the frequency of occurrence of depressive symptoms for widowed and married elderly people depending on the risk of social isolation. Our study shows that widowhood alone does not lead to an increased occurrence of depressive symptoms. However, “widowed oldest old”, who are also at risk of social isolation, have significantly more depressive symptoms than those without risk. In the group of “married oldest old”, women have significantly more depressive symptoms than men, but isolated and non-isolated do not differ. Especially for people who have lost a spouse, the social network changes significantly and increases the risk for social isolation. This represents a risk factor for the occurrence of depressive symptoms.

scholarly journals Social isolation and loneliness in old age: Exploring their role in mental and physical health

Psychiatriki ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Panagiota Tragantzopoulou ◽  
Vaitsa Giannouli
Keyword(s):  
Old Age ◽  
Social Isolation ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Everyday Functioning ◽  
Theoretical Understanding ◽  
Social Species ◽  
Social Settings ◽  
Physical Disorders ◽  
Scientific Attention ◽  
And Behavior

The current review has the ultimate scope to accurately define social isolation and loneliness while highlighting the serious repercussions on health and behavior. Daily hundreds of people across the globe report suffering from social isolation and loneliness; an over whelming feeling of emptiness, unworthiness and personal failure. Human beings are social species that have the need to nurture reliable and secure social settings to survive. Simultaneously, trustworthy social relationships are critical for mental and physical wellbeing whereas impaired social interactions can lead to social isolation and loneliness. In an attempt to tease out and elucidate salient problems and issues, we seek to critically compose studies, views and issues from a variety of perspectives by providing opposing standpoints and conversational voices instead of intensifying traditional narratives and dominant discourses. Few aspects of social isolation and loneliness are untouched by scientific attention. The role of these concepts in old age is no exception and arguably has a tremendous impact in multiple aspects of life. Social isolation and loneliness are two distinctive concepts that have been identified as risk factors for wellbeing, health and everyday functioning in profound ways. Therefore, we aimed to examine the associations with various psychiatric disorders for instance anxiety, depression, psychotic disorder and Alzheimer’s disease as well as with a variety of physical disorders such as cardiovascular diseases, cholesterol and autoimmune diseases. Given the alarming records from healthcare which depict an almost two-fold rise in healthcare attendance, we attempt to assemble the proposed interventions through an in-depth review of the current literature available and provide the incentive for constructive and collective thought. To our theoretical understanding, in order to better comprehend these psychosocial concepts and deliver timely and more effective personalized interventions to those in need, it is of paramount importance to thoroughly examine the identified causal links. However, further research is required for the reduction or the deletion of the undesired effects.

Chronic Mental Illness in Old Age Homes

2017 ◽  
pp. 21-39
Author(s):  
Shamsi Akbar ◽  
Hitesh Khurana
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
Old Age ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Developmental Process ◽  
Living Arrangement ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Care Family ◽  
And Migration ◽  
Old Age Homes

Aging is a part of natural developmental process in the life of any living being. For human beings it is not just a biological phenomenon but it has psychological and social implications too. Some of the areas that would be affected include those related to health and health care, family composition, living arrangement, housing and migration. As a result of these socio-demographic evolutions and situations, older adults at times are forced to shift from their own homes to institutions/ Old age homes OAH. Living in OAH evokes a picture of apathy, dependence, and sadness which make the older adults increasingly vulnerable to mental health problems. Further there is also a strong need to develop suitable strategies to implement better mental health programmes and guidelines for the CMI in old age homes.

scholarly journals The Myth of Old Age: Addressing the Issue of Dependency and Contribution in Old Age Using Empirical Examples From the United Kingdom

2020 ◽  
pp. 136078042093773
Author(s):  
Jeroen Spijker ◽  
Anna Schneider
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Older People ◽  
Old Age ◽  
Social Isolation ◽  
Policy Making ◽  
Social Attitudes ◽  
Population Ageing ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
The Media ◽  
Over Time

In academia, policy-making and the media, population ageing often has negative connotations: it is associated with a rising care burden on society, with dependency, and with a fear of social isolation. The concepts pertaining to old age have evolved over time, and some of them challenge criticize this popular perception. This article begins with an overview of the development of social attitudes towards old age. Then, with the help of publicly available UK data, it addresses three areas in which old age and population ageing is perceived as problematic: poor health, dependency on other people’s productivity, and the role older adults play in the care cycle. Due to the diversity of the population aged 65+, we question the necessity of distinguishing older people in terms of age or dependency and instead recommend more research into the heterogeneity of the older population.

scholarly journals Roles of Social Isolation and Rurality on Functional Limitations in Older Adults Living in the US

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 959-959
Author(s):  
Kaleigh Ligus ◽  
Keith Bellizzi ◽  
Greg Rhee
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Social Isolation ◽  
Oldest Old ◽  
Functional Limitations ◽  
Risk Groups ◽  
Social Connections ◽  
Stress Buffering ◽  
Community Activities ◽  
Rural Older Adults ◽  
Rural Adults

Abstract Social isolation is a growing problem among adults aged ≥65. Using 2019 data from the National Health and Aging Trends Study (NHATS) (n=4,603), we examined the associations of social isolation and rurality with functional limitations in US older adults. We hypothesized that rural older adults would report social isolation more than non-rural adults, and social isolation and rurality would have an interaction effect on difficulty in performing activities of daily living (ADLs). Stress buffering theory guided this research suggesting individuals who have greater social connections also have greater coping skills to buffer against health-related stress. We assessed rural and non-rural older adults’ social isolation (measured by a composite score of engagement in community activities and social connections) and difficulty in completing ADLs (e.g., difficulty in dressing, bathing, and eating in the past month). Our results supported one of the hypotheses that there were differing levels of social isolation among both rural and non-rural older adults. In both rural and non-rural groups, oldest-old (85+), non-White adults, those with poor health or had multiple comorbidities were significantly isolated or experienced severe isolation. These results support (1) the premise that specific demographic characteristics are associated with social isolation as well as (2) a growing body of research showing rural adults have unique characteristics that are protective against social isolation. Our findings are related to demographic predictors which could help target interventions toward specific at-risk groups. Policymakers and healthcare practitioners should be aware of risks for social isolation and prepare to discuss these issues.

Social isolation and health in older adults

2003 ◽  
Author(s):  
John T. Cacioppo ◽  
Louise C. Hawkley
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Social Isolation
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