The elderly can either be a benefit or a burden to society, statistics show that ageing people are a growing population and it is a phenomenon that cannot be ignored (WHO, 2020). One of the biggest concerns regarding the elderly is the fact that these people are the forgotten generation and are more often than not left to fend for themselves. For example, family members will place them in care facilities and expect care givers to tend to their needs. The challenge however, is multifold, issues of concern include health, mental health and a host of related issues that contribute to the challenges of ageing well.
Ageing well is about the elderly experiencing self-satisfaction, being independent and feeling well-cared for. Well-cared includes social integration, living a life of purpose and feeling secured. In contrast, many elderly feel that they are sidelined and left to live out their last days in care facilities (Midlarsky, Kahana & Belser, 2014). When ageing people are left to their own devices, they experience various challenges, for example social isolation and in severe cases, being vulnerable to the whims of caregivers and abuse. Covid has not made this any easier on this demographic.
Social isolation and loneliness are common issues and a problem that occurs globally. The persistence of stressors that contribute to social isolation and loneliness can have implications such as stress, distress and other mental health issues. Interventions that address these issues must be targeted at the individual. According to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, people need to satisfy their basic needs in order to progress to higher needs such as love and belonging. The failure to realise such needs, leads to people becoming vulnerable to ill-health, distress and their overall wellbeing is compromised.
Loneliness and social isolation require intervention to restore the self-worth of the older generation. Interventions must have objectives that are easily attainable and must be measurable to gauge progress.
The ICHAF Training Institute has launched a media training and support initiative that is aimed specifically at South Africa’s Elderly community. The objective of interventions will be to promote social support from different quarters, for example, the community, distant family members, friends in different home and service providers to the elderly.
