Social Work with the Elderly

1

• 11.
• Social Work with the Elderly

2
Aging Society

• The large cohort of persons (the baby boomers)
  born between 1946 and 1966 who will begin turning
  65 starting in 2011
• The decline in the fertility rate and birth rate
  and
• Increases in life expectancy at birth.

3
Gerontology

• Gerontology is a multidisciplinary field of study
  that encompasses the biological, psychological,
  sociological, health and economic aspects of
  ageing.

4
Incomes of Seniors

• Only age group with a lower income than seniors
  are those from 16 to 24 years of age.
• In 2002, a single elderly woman averaged only
  24,000 per year.

5
Theories of Ageing

• Activity theory
• Disengagement theory
• Continuity theory
• Role theory,
• Life course theory

6
Ageism Negative Images of the Elderly

• Attitude, action or institutional structure that
  subordinates or oppresses a person or group on
  the basis of age
• Oppression of people on the basis of age where
  seniors are presented as a homogeneous group that
  are a burden to society.

7
Healthy Aging

• Life expectancy has doubled over the past one
  hundred years

8
Issues of Increasing Concern

• Inactivity
• Accidents
• Victims of Fraud
• Mandatory Retirement

9
Compassionate care benefits

• Type of special benefit through Employment
  Insurance (EI)
• Benefits to a person who must be absent from work
  to provide care or support to a gravely ill
  family member.

10
Elder Abuse

• Occurs at home and in institutional settings
• Includes physical, emotion abuse, as well as,
  financial abuse and neglect

11
Long-Term Care

• Nursing home or rehabilitation centre care
• Under 10 of seniors live in long term care
  faculties
• But, with aging population demand will grow

12
Home care

• Home care involves a range of services, including
  health promotion, curative medicine, end-of-life
  care, rehabilitation, support and maintenance,
  social adaptation and integration and support for
  the informal (family) caregiver.