The Elderly as a Vulnerable Population Essay

Social Vulnerability refers to risk as its primary element (Scanlon & Lee, 2007). Every individual is exposed to risk factors therefore; everyone is potentially vulnerable to health problems (Scanlon & Lee, 2007). Social vulnerability consists of various economic, democratic, and cultural variables in relation to an individual’s likelihood of becoming ill (Scanlon & Lee, 2007). The degree of social vulnerability is that an individual experience is greatly reliant on their personal capacity to tolerate adverse influences (Scanlon & Lee, 2007). Each individual will have different strategies and abilities in coping, resisting, and recovering from situations that could result in social vulnerability (Scanlon & Lee, 2007).

For the purposes of this essay the Elderly Care Scenario has been selected. The aim of this essay is to discuss the concept of vulnerability and why the patient in the Elderly Care Scenario is vulnerable. With reference to the NMC Code, the second part of the essay will discuss how the scenario demonstrates/does not demonstrate professional values and how the staff could have empowered the patient and demonstrated respect and maintained his dignity. The third part then discusses the anti-discriminatory issues within the scenario and how it could be promoted. The final part is a reflection on the assignment and the lessons learnt.

375). For example, a person with a chronic condition such as cancer or heart disease may already have difficulty managing his/her condition and have less physical ability to cope with stress than someone without such condition. He or she may also be at risk or have other comorbidities, with each affecting the other. Moreover, resilience may be further decreased by their marginalized or disenfranchised status. They may be unable to maintain a full-time job, therefore, have inadequate salary and live at or below poverty level. This, in turn, “has an impact on his or her ability to secure adequate and/or safe housing, essential health care, and pharmacological services” (Lundy & Janes, 2009, p. 616). Therefore, vulnerability results from the combined effects of limited resources, which create a more hazardous situation (Stanhope & Lancaster, 2014b).

With the generation of baby boomers approaching senior age by 2025, it may be difficult for them to adjust to the new technology and implement it in their everyday activities. Baby boomers are commonly known for the rejection of modern conveniences in exchange for traditional technology and for traditional values. So how will this cripple the changing trend of life for the aging population and there to decisions of living at home alone and last but not lease Medicare and the risk factors of making such a life changing decision? These issues create a group who are underserved and vulnerable. Underserved because of the barriers they encounter when caring for themselves by trying to eat healthy and the inadequate health care cost. Vulnerable because of the economic disadvantages and the health conditions they may face while dealing with this financial burden. If these problems are not address we will a heavy burden in our healthcare system.

One dominant economic feature of the healthcare industry is the growing need for both basic and specialized healthcare due to the continued aging of the “Baby Boomer” generation. This generation consists of over 79,000,000 individuals born in the US between 1946 and 1964. As this generation has aged, the need for healthcare has increased dramatically. Let us take a look at some statistics:

Current numbers show substantial growth from the eighties, and estimates suggest that the demand for long term care among the elderly will more than double in the next thirty years. (Feder, Komisar, and Niefeld) This growth will exacerbate concerns about balancing institutional and noninstitutional care, assuring quality of care, and most importantly adopting and sustaining financing mechanisms that equitably and adequately protect the elderly who need long-term care.

An approximate 10,000 or more elderly are expected to retire on a daily basis for the next decade and beyond. These trends would mean a lot not only for the labor force and economic growth but also the major impact for healthcare; considering the dynamics of the demographics and the expenditure on health care services. It is estimated that about 12.6 percent of the U.S. population, account for 1/3 of the nation 's annual healthcare expenditures, while the Per capita expenditures on Americans 65 and older are four times as much as on those under the age of 65(Binstock,1993 ). This means that long term care is more than doubled as more people retire with at least one chronic disease. Managing long-term care (LTC) delivery systems and other entitlement programs is a pressing concern for policy makers as pharmaceutical cost in 2015 alone rose to 10.4% (Healthcare report, 2011). LTC reimbursement, providing service delivery and expanding the healthcare workforce is a tasking duty for the health administration as careful implementation for policy is needed to afford overspending and putting excess strain on the healthcare budget.

Everyone is potentially vulnerable at some point over the extent of one’s lifetime. More specifically, everyone is potentially at risk of poor physical, psychological, or social health. The word vulnerable is defined by the Merrian-Webster’s Dictionary as “capable of being physically wounded” or “open to attack or damage”. Commonly, the word vulnerability indicates one’s susceptibility to health problems, harm or neglect. Some however, maybe more or less susceptible or at risk of poor health at different times in their lives, while certain individuals and communities are more likely to be at risk than others at any given point in time (Aday, 1994). Thus, vulnerable populations may be defined as social groups with an increased susceptibility to adverse health outcomes (Flaskerud & Winslow, 1998).

Medicare is a federal government program that attempts to medically cover individuals 65 years and older and those with permanent disabilities, the most difficult population to serve. For fifty years, Medicare has provided economic and health security for older Americans, providing access to essential medical benefits including acute, chronic, and preventive health services. While the implementation of the Affordable Care Act improved Medicare by providing additional preventive services and brand name prescription drugs for less, there are still many flaws in Medicare, such having gaps in coverage, lack of supplemental costs, structural complexity, and large out of pocket expense that prevent the program from effectively offering health coverage to many individuals. As the Baby Boom Generation ages and the longevity of the population increases, Medicare costs will rise and constitute more and more of the federal budget, crowding out other important sectors.

The baby boomer generation will have tremendous impacts on health care as they continue to age and experience health issues. The impacts will show a significant financial difference in the very near future than what the impacts look like today for all health care organizations across the country. The baby boomer generation began between 1946 and 1964. Throughout the 18 year time span, over 76.4 million people were born. By 1964, this made up over 40 percent of the total US population. Today, this generation is between 53 and 73 years old and by 2020 there will be one and five people over the age of 65. As this time approaches and this generation becomes Medicare and

Access to health care refers to the individual’s ability to obtain and use needed services (Ellis & Hartley, 2008). Access to health care affects a multitude of people. Uninsured, underinsured, elderly, lower socioeconomic class, minorities, and people that live in remote areas are at the highest risk for lack of access to health care. There are also economical and political roles that complicate access to health care. Access to health care is a multi-faceted concept involving geographic, economics, or sociocultural issues. With my extensive research on access to health care, I hope to provide influences regarding; who is affected by lack of access, geographic, economic, sociocultural access, and

The baby boomer generation will need more Medicaid services which would place a large financial burden on the program. Compared with previous generations, the baby boomers generation has a higher rate of "diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol, and obesity" (Barr, 2014). People with multiple chronic conditions are hospitalized more than those with fall or cold. They are more vulnerable and therefore, are more expensive. As a result, a two-fold problem is created. First, there will be a shortage in health care professionals, because baby boomer makeup such a large part of the healthcare field. The second part of the problem is

Yet of perhaps greatest importance to the American healthcare system and industry is the demographical information of this older population in terms of its particular characteristics and disposition. More specifically, healthcare professionals and policy analysts must understand the aging populations’ economic and living situations, and their overall health status (Jacobsen, Kent, Lee & Mather, 2011). Economic factors are key as they directly pertain to the likelihood of reliance on publically-funded healthcare programs, while “the marital status and living arrangements of the elderly are closely tied to levels of social support, economic well-being, and the availability of caregivers” (Jacobsen et al., 2011, p. 4). The importance of this population’s general health status is, of course, self-explanatory.

Vulnerable population is not limited to a specific disease, race, income, or gender. There are different situations that can cause an individual to be classified into this category. A Vulnerable population can also include the neighborhood where an individual resides because healthcare resources may be limited. The focus of this will include the understanding of how the different biases affect the delivery of healthcare to individuals. It will also include a self-reflection of the learning prior and post about the population. It will identify a character and describe how he or she may be identified in a vulnerable population.

Elderly people account for much of our population in hospitals and assisted living facilities. For the purpose of this paper, I viewed the movie “Up” and concluded many things based on the stereotypical aspects and theories of the elderly. Throughout this paper, I will relate to the movie “Up” to reflect on how the movie influenced my outlook on young and elderly behavior, my view on aging, and describe an activity that I carried out as an empathy exercise to simulate a normal physiological aging process.