Essay on Increasing Seniors Access to Social Services

Abstract

This paper highlights and discusses various ways of enhancing social support services to older adults in Canada. The paper, in addition, addresses various Barriers to effective social support and ways of overcoming. Some of the discussed issues include seniors’ access to healthcare, housing, gaming activities and social supervisory services. There have been international concerns about the overall well-being of older people of 65 years and above. Majority of them are retirees and without a reliable source of income while others are either physically or mentally challenged. Availability of social services and support determines their independence, health, and quality of life. The numerous challenges experienced in delivering these services have called on researchers to find other alternatives to ensuring the well-being of older adults. Governmental and non-governmental organizations, for instance, have been urged to intensify their support to seniors. This alone is however not enough, it is necessary to explore other available and applicable options that would ensure seniors do not live as isolated creatures in the society.

Increasing Seniors Access to Social Services

Increasing access to social support services such as community centers is necessary for preventing social isolation among the older adults. It is a key determinant of their quality of life, health, and independence. There are different ways in which the governmental and non-governmental organizations can ensure that seniors have unlimited access to social services. This paper highlights and discusses the various barriers to seniors’ access to social services in Canada and how such barriers can be overcome through the provision of relevant support services including access to healthcare, gameplays, housing, education, and supervisory services.

Access to Healthcare Services

Research has shown that there exist significant barriers to adequate healthcare services for seniors in Canada. Older adults in Canada face financial, behavioral, communication, and physical barriers to healthcare services (Yao & MacEntee, 2014). Older Chinese immigrants particularly are the major victims of the communication barrier which prevents them from obtaining the service effectively (Guruge, Birpreet & Samuels-Dennis, 2015). Even more worrying is the lack of cultural competence among the healthcare providers in Canadian hospitals and logistical problems in the service delivery system.

To ensure the overall wellbeing of these adults, certain steps need to be taken in order to facilitate their access to healthcare services. The Canadian government, for instance, should assume the greater responsibility for enabling efficient access to oral care by starting health insurance for elders as a tax-deductible plan. The government should consider subsidizing the premiums for older adults receiving social welfare and introducing geriatric services for the aging population (Madden & Wong, 2013). To address the issues of cultural differences, decision making in health centers should be shared by the patient and physician. This will ensure that immigrants’ adults can seek healthcare services in Canada without the fear of violation of their culture. In addition, healthcare outreach materials should be provided in a language that is understood and accessible to immigrant elders in Canada.

Access to Housing Facilities

Seniors in Canada are at a greater disadvantage when it comes to housing (Kerman, Sirohi, Curwood & Trainor, 2017). A large portion of these old adults comprises of retired employees. At the age of 65 and above, finding and sustaining employment is a very challenging task. This leaves them with limited financial resources to support quality housing.

Mental and physical health challenges, as well as mobility issues, increase the risk of this population’s housing insecurity (Walsh, Hewson, Paul, Gulbrandsen & Dooley, 2015). Moreover, research indicates pension ineligibility and benefits for people over 65 years in Canada contribute significantly to their homelessness. As a result of the aging population, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation predict that demand for community housing actions is bound to increase rather than decrease.

Seniors who do not own their own homes are more likely to be socially isolated than the ones with homes (“Canadian Center for Policy Alternatives,” n.d.). To ensure equality among all elders, certain steps need to be put in place to eliminate housing barriers for older adults. Such steps include enhancing housing services to them. The Canadian government should consider funding allocation to mental health and housing agencies that serve old adults with complex needs (Kerman, Sirohi, Curwood & Trainor, 2017). This service should be extended to other physically challenged seniors and those with no source of income.

While training for housing service providers should be made a priority, it should include how to handle and accommodate seniors especially those with complex needs such as substance abuse problems. To address the mobility issue, seniors should be assigned housing facilities that do not require them to use stairs as most of them hardly walk. Some developed countries in the world have responded to elders’ housing facilities challenges by forming senior citizens confederations and movements (Vaidya & Raje, 2014). These movements are aimed at sensitizing elders on why their active participation in development processes is important.

Access to Education and Digital Gameplays

Empirical evidence indicates that digital gameplay as a social activity can increase the social interaction and improve cognition of the older adults in the society (Kaufman, Sauvé, Renaud, Sixsmith & Mortenson, 2016). However, the challenges encountered in implementing this service make it hard for it to be considered as an effective tool for minimizing social isolation of adults in Canada (Mortenson, Sixsmith & Kaufman, 2017).

Cognitive decline is one of the most feared aspects of growing older (Zhang & Kaufman, 2016). Difficulties in mastering and practicing digital games, for instance, are some of the factors that discourage older adults from taking part in these activities. The main reason given by most adults who do not participate in gaming activities is that such games are too complicated for them.

Older adults should be subjected to gameplays after retirement. The younger generation should take the responsibility of educating them on the benefits of such games on their health and overall social well-being. They should be trained to view gameplays as enjoyment activities and mental stimulators (Mortenson, Sixsmith & Kaufman, 2017). In addition, older adults need to be introduced to relatively easy to play games and then advance to difficult levels depending on their progress. In instances where the digital gameplays prove to be extremely difficult due to education problems, they should be introduced to non-digital games that they enjoy to play.

Supervisory Services

Elder mistreatment is a perverse and an internationally recognized problem (Pillemer, Burnes, Riffin & Lachs, 2016). Homecare professionals and service givers are in a better position to witness and prevent adults’ mistreatment in the society. However, the majority of caregivers often fail to designate statistical codes of this procedure and as a result, some of the mistreatment situations go undocumented (Couture, Israël, Soulières & Sasseville, 2016). Such mistreatments include repeated acts and actions which end up causing severe harm or distress to the old adults. In addition, screening and analyzing seniors’ mistreatment in Canada compete with other organizations’ priorities. The fact that most of the people who mistreat elders are their family members and relatives makes it hard to report these cases to the authorities.

In the context of such mistreatments, primary and secondary interventions are necessary to minimize their occurrences (Couture, Israël, Soulières & Sasseville, 2016). Social and healthcare professionals should be trained to identify any risks and warning signs of adults’ mistreatment and react appropriately. Homecare professionals should always be on alert for any form of mistreatment by family members and should swiftly respond by reporting such incidences.

In addition, family members need to be enlightened on the importance of offering necessary care to the vulnerable adults and why they should refrain from causing them harm and distress. Developed nations have well worked-out plans that seek to protect older adults from mistreatment by other society members. In the United States, for instance, almost every state has mandatory reporting laws (Dong, 2014). These laws compel all healthcare professionals to report any suspicion of elder abuse cases.

As highlighted above, seniors can be protected from social isolation by enabling them access to various social support services. Such services include access to healthcare, gameplays, housing, education, and supervisory services. Seniors in Canada who have attained the age of 65 years and above face significant challenges in accessing such services. This is due to their low source of income, mental and physical challenges and lack of adequate support from their relatives and family members. With adequate measures, however, these issues can be resolved. Such initiatives include government intervention through healthcare professionals and housing subsidies. Enhancing seniors’ access to social support services helps ensure that they lead an independent, quality, and healthy life.

References

Canadian Center for Policy Alternatives. Enhancing social support for seniors living in BC.

Retrieved April 7, 2018, from https://www.policyalternatives.ca/sites/default/files/uploads/publications/BC%20Office/2 013/05/CCPA-BC_Seniors_Fact_Sheet_Social_Support.pdf

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