Autonomy and Empowerment for the Elderly

In the U.S, one in four will be aged 60 years and older by 2050 (U.S. Census Bureau). This represents an overwhelming number of people who will either be in the caretaker role or be the ROC. Like today, most of the care will be provided by informal unpaid caregivers. The number of informal unpaid caregivers is expected to rise from 20 million in 2000 to 37 million in 2050 (Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation [ASPE], 2003). Because of the burden of care giving, many caregivers will experience depression, poor health and quality of life (Etters, Goodall, & Harrison, 2008). Their well-being is an important public health concern.

Cambridge (2016) defines autonomy as the ability to make a decision without any influence from any individual. Similarly, it is the freedom for someone to exercise their own will or action (Dictionary.com 2016).

Adult children caring for their aging parent or grandparent provide the majority of informal support. This is due in part because grandmothers “raise their grandchildren to believe in lifetime reciprocity”, grandchildren often feel an obligation to care for their aging family members (Novak, 2012, p.191). Furthermore, a heavy reliance on family support may be due to a lack of trust exists towards formal health care programs, a lack of access, or a general lack of

But this approach can also be negative and this is because someone can feel that they are having a lot of pressure put on them if they have to make a decision and it could lead to them getting stressed out and sometimes people might refuse to make a decisions if care professionals are expecting a decision from the person being asked. But as I have said before everyone takes things differently. This would be applied as well if Frieda was getting care from careers, Frieda could experience the positive effects or she could experience the negative effects depending on how she feels after the fall. Another way to support the independence of a person it let them have control of the things they can in their lives. So this can be from letting someone control their money, letting someone choose what they want to buy when they do food shopping. Another way to support independence is to maintain the person’s dignity, so this can be done like if someone wants to a care professional to go to the toilet with them the care professional could go with them but the maintain their dignity they might not look at the person while they are using the toilet unless they need any help. This approach can be effective because it gives people a sense of control and it gives a person a sense of having control of their life and their ageing. If someone does feel that they are in control of their life they might cooperate with care professionals more and they might even become more involved

It is essential to manage risks associated with conflicts or dilemmas between an individual’s rights and duty of care by finding a level of balance. It is important that the care giver put personal feelings aside and look objectively at the situation. The right action should always be taken even if emotionally this is hard to do.

After spending an afternoon interviewing my elderly father-in-law, I gained insight into how he perceives the aging process and the impact on the quality of his life. First, and foremost he viewed aging in a very positive and healthy manner. He believes that a positive attitude assists in accepting physical and psychosocial changes and enjoyed the fact that he and his wife are both physically fit and cognitively alert. He felt confident that advances made in health care and the quality of their lives would continue to be empowering. He enjoys the benefits of being a senior citizen including discounted travel, free education, and other incentives marketed towards seniors. He expressed a sense of well-being with respect to the numerous

After the Great Depression the United States implemented several programs to assist the American people with low income and disabilities (Dingell, 2015). Within these programs included Medicaid and Medicare, which were not set up to serve for the purpose of long-term care for seniors. Today we find that due to the set up of the programs there is a void in the assistance of long term care of seniors in our country (Dingell, 2015).

You need to give the individual you are caring for choice and control. Enabling the individual to make choices about the way they live and the care they receive. Speak to the person respectively and listen to what they are saying.

After spending an afternoon interviewing my elderly father-in-law, I gained insight into how he perceives the aging process and the impact on the quality of his life. First, and foremost he viewed aging in a very positive and healthy manner. He believes that a positive attitude assists in accepting physical and psychosocial changes and enjoyed the fact that he and his wife are both physically fit and cognitively alert. He felt confident that advances made in health care and the quality of their lives would continue to be empowering. He enjoys the benefits of being a senior citizen including discounted travel, free education, and other incentives marketed towards seniors. He expressed a sense of well-being with respect to the numerous

Autonomy is often cited as a supporting ethical consideration when discussing PAS and is defined as “the quality or state of being independent, free, and self-directing” (Autonomy, n.d.). Western Europeans and

Autonomy explores the idea of every person having rights in regards to healthcare and decision making. “Autonomy is an agreement to respect another’s right to self-determine a course of action and support independent decision making” (Beauchamp & Childress, 2009). In 1990, the ideas of autonomy lead to the Patient Self Determination Act which allows competent people to make their wishes known about end of life. The act includes living wills and health care power of attorneys, which deals with end of

Reminiscing to 2010, when I was faced with my grandmother 's illness during the adolescent years in my life I knew that I had a passion to care for the elderly (aging) population. From this passion, it ignited a fire so strong that I pursue my certified nursing assistant certification to gain a better understanding of working with the elderly population. By doing so, it has been a great benefit to my life; aging is an inevitable experience that we all will go through during our life. It is important to ensure that our elderly individuals are still able to enjoy the best quality of life after retirement. However, as we age, there will be a lifestyle change that the aging population must encounter.

Later adulthood is the time in life when changes in marriage, families, and peer relationships are affected the most by the loss of someone close to that person. “Most people 70 years of age or older are widowed, divorced, or single” (Zastrow & Kirst-Ashman, 2010, p.619). Losing a spouse or close friend can create a sense of loneliness, which causes depression, anxiety and the emptiness feeling can become overwhelming. Depression also leads to psychological effects that will deteriorate a person’s health causing the chance for a terminal disease to become much higher. The weaker appearance of older adults causes family and remaining peers to step up in the role of making sure the person’s wellbeing is being met. (Zastrow & Kirst-Ashman, 2010). Living accommodations and healthcare needs

Independence or personal freedom is an aspect that most individuals seek in their lives. Although some individuals may need the help of others in order to gain these features, others are already endowed with autonomous thoughts and reflect it in their behavior. Deci & Ryan (2009) claim that autonomy is one of the basic and universal psychological needs that is necessary for the well-being and flourishing of all people. The development of autonomy comes in different forms for all people. The research discussed throughout this paper will reveal and evaluate how autonomy develops in individuals and whether showing autonomous behavior is positive or negative.

As people age they develop many special needs related to the later period of life. Many elderly people have specific physical needs where adaptations to their home are necessary or where they need specific equipment for self care. Old age also brings new emotional challenges for the elderly person when the family can be useful in helping to meet the persons mental health needs. Senior citizens experience needs in their social life; they also experience the need for activities with other seniors. Health needs also negatively affect the elderly and cause multiple physical problems. Every elderly person experiences needs that are related to each of these areas.