Australia's Ageing Population And Its Subsequent Impact On The Volunteering Sector

This charity struggles with volunteers because the elderly are stereotyped. Although this may be the case, I wanted to bring humor to this, which I’d hope would inspire the younger generation to do their bit, as they too, will become old one day.

The Australian Government has identified that Australia’s population is ageing (Department of Health and Ageing, 2012). Rather than viewing this changing shift as an inconvenience due to the affect that ageing will have on labour supply, economic output, infrastructure requirements and governments’ budgets, the government has taken

To be honest, this week’s readings indeed opened a door for me to realize my limited background information about the aging field and to grasp pieces of its real appearance. Four required articles focus on different aspects, among which the one named “developing an older adult volunteer program in a New York Chinese Community: An Evidence-based Approach” attracted me most. Reasons are as follows.

Since 1901 Australia’s elderly population has had a dramatic rise with it estimated that 65-year olds make up just under 15% of Australia’s population (Northern Health Research). The median age of the country has risen from 22 to 35 years and people age 0-14 has decreased from 35.1% in 1901 to 20.7% in 2001 (Mayne Health Research). As this “greying of the nation” continues mirroring global trends, there has been an influx of residents admitted into aged care facilities around the country. The aim of this report is to perform a case study on an elderly member of the community cared for at the St. Paul’s Aged Care Centre in Caboolture, after

Sudheimer noticed improvements in the care and compassion she had towards older patients as a result of the skills she learned from the nurses in the Baby Boomer generation. Waddock and Freedman understand that connecting children with adults is crucial and cannot be overlooked. Both students and adults benefit greatly from taking the time to learn from each other. Schools need to take advantage of the benefits that come from having older volunteers mentor students and lessen the gap between generations. Halvorsen and Emerman recognized that the wisdom and experience of older adults needs to be shared with the community. Older generations have a desire to help but they like to know that younger generations request their advice and assistance. Lai, Chang, and Lien understand that organizations are much more successful when people from a variety of age groups work together to combine their diverse knowledge and skills. Srinivasan also noticed the growth and success that comes from having multiple generations working

Unfortunately, the majority of today’s human resource managers assume that the most desirable and inexpensive employees are younger applicants. However, mature employees are a valuable and often disregarded asset for increased productivity for organisations’ all over Australia (Silberman, 2010). Mature workers can incorporate a wide variety of talent, knowledge and skills. Additionally, the built up knowledge of older workers can be used in the workplace for mentoring programs that can reduce staff turnover, train employees and increase staff morale. Throughout this presentation, I will be analysing;

The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate my knowledge of volunteer organizations. Twenty years ago I began my volunteer career working for a relatively young faith-based non-profit organization. My initial community beautification responsibilities progressively developed into other areas of service including teaching, fiscal administration, and event logistics coordination. Through my evolutionary involvement as a multidimensional volunteer, I was able to learn about the inner dynamics of volunteer organizations: fiscal pressure, bureaucratic barriers, struggles to build and maintain community engagement, and the pros and cons of an exclusive volunteer labor force. For documentation I am including my letter of resignation (2014) as the financial

How do we assure that aging process is a positive one and is not taxing on the families and the society as a whole? Nokolova (2016) offers two solutions to the challenges for the increased aging population. They include: (a) gradual retirement scheme and (b) offering options for and rewarding volunteering, care, and artistic activities for the aging population of the society. Gradual retirement scheme or “phased-in retirement” allows older individual to remain in the workforce and continue to contribute towards the “tax revenues and reduced expenditure on pensions, which holds particular importance for fiscal and macroeconomic stability.” Additionally, as a result of their knowledge and experience they are an assent to the organizations and to the younger generation of employees. Moreover, Nokolova suggests “later-life work has positive health and perceived well-being consequence for the older employees.” Nokolova’s second suggestion includes options for and rewarding elderly for volunteer work, care, and artistic activities. It is her believe that unpaid activities “improve quality of the social fabric” by improving the well-being of those who engage in such activities, it is a contribution to the economy, “about 25 percent of U.S. residents volunteer, providing 7.9 billion hours f service and contributing 184 billion dollars of service.” While at the same time, such activities lower the cost of healthcare and welfare keeping the aging population active and minimize the opportunity for sedentary life style. Aging is unavoidable but it does not have to contribute to stress should we choose to look at it from the positive, solution-based point of

The aged 65 and older population in Australia is about 2.5 million in 2002, which covers about 12 percent of the total population of Australia. However, the number is predicted to increase to about 4.2 million in 2021, which covers about 18 percent of the total Australian population (Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development, 2005). Now, 14.3% of Tasmania population is over 65 years old and 14.9% of South Australian population is over 65 years old (ABS, 2010). As predicted in 2014,

Research demonstrates that volunteering is associated with active lifestyles and health benefits, particularly for older Americans. Volunteers not only help their community but also experience better health in their later years, enjoying greater levels of well-being, lower rates of depression and increased strength and energy. This finding is especially significant given current demographic trends. As our aging population increases – with almost one in every five Americans projected to be age 60 or older by 2030 – there is a great opportunity to engage older Americans in volunteering as a way to meet critical community needs while contributing to longer, healthier lives.

Last summer, I volunteered at Cloverdale, a small, local nursing home. At first, I was being selfish and only wanted to “participate” for the service hour credits. After sitting for hours on end, an elderly woman taught me the decisions we make early in life, deeply effect our lives in the end.

The second consideration for the selection of this population pertains to the less-explored albeit equally important concept of productivity among aging people. It cannot be emphasized enough that alarmist discourse on the possible effects of an aging population tends to discount the potential of aging people as resources. Undeniably, there is an overwhelming belief that the age of 65 signifies an end to productivity. However, this is not necessarily true, considering that associating aging people with notions of feebleness and unproductivity is stereotypical and a distinct manifestation of ageism. To note, aging people are cast in cultural stereotypes such as being “senile, feeble, frail, financially distressed, lonely, non-productive members

Australia, like numerous countries throughout the world, has an imminent aged care crisis. The Australian Bureau of Statistics (2012) reports that there are 3.22 million people aged 65 years or older, or 14% of the population, and this number is expected to double over the next 45 years. The effect of the elderly living longer is that the occurrence of illness and disabilities, as well as recovery time, is increased (Lovell, 2006). Associated with this is the increase in demand for health care resources, and the negative stereotype of the elderly being an economic burden (Lovell, 2006). The stereotype of the elderly being frail is perpetuated by the media’s promotion of youth and vitality, as well as the biased reporting of the negative

Another factor of the aging in Australia is the life expectancy is increased from 1980 because of good medicines, good health care programs, good food and good environment.

Like all other developed countries, Australia is greying. The proportion of older adults, that is, people aged over 65 as defined by the Australian Government (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2016b), rose from was 8.6 per cent to 15 per cent from 1960 to 2015 (The World Bank, 2016) and is projected to reach 18.7 per cent in 2031 (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2016). Population ageing is even more serious in rural areas (Department of Health and Ageing, 2008). This is evident in Little Whinging, a remote village in Queensland, where around 20 per cent of its population is expected to be over 65 by 2030 and the number may rise to 25 per cent by 2050. With the projected growth in the ageing population resulting increase in demand for healthcare and assisted living programmes, the society needs to address the problem of population ageing as a whole. A decreasing dependency ratio speaks to the importance of sustainability to meet the needs of older adults as 36 per cent of older adults in Australia are living in poverty (OECD, 2015). Little Whinging is calling for recommendations for keeping older adults independent. In this report I make three evidence-based recommendations. These include 1) provide home modifications suitable for older residents through reverse mortgages, 2) build a senior day centre to organise social activities, exercise facilities and other services for older residents, and 3) not to neglect older residents who do not seek help.